2010
Sgt. Christopher R. Hrbek
Hometown: Westwood, New Jersey, U.S.
Age: 25 years old
Died: January 14, 2010 in Operation Enduring Freedom.
Unit: Marines, 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary
Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Incident: Died while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
Sgt. Christopher R. Hrbek
U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release
On the Web:
Public contact:
http://www.defense.gov/Releases/Release.aspx?ReleaseID=13239
http://www.defense.gov/landing/comment.aspx
Media contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132
or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 034-10
January 15, 2010
DOD Identifies Marine Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation
Enduring Freedom.
Sgt. Christopher R. Hrbek, 25, of Westwood, N.J., died Jan. 14 while supporting combat operations
in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine
Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
For additional background information on this Marine, news media representatives may contact the
II Marine Expeditionary Force public affairs office at 910-451-7200.
Marine Sgt. Christopher R. Hrbek
25, of Westwood, N.J; assigned to 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II
Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Jan. 14 while supporting combat operations
in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
Marine awaiting Bronze Star killed by IED
Staff report
A North Carolina-based Marine in line to receive a medal for valor died in Afghanistan on Thursday,
according to the Defense Department and media reports.
Sgt. Christopher R. Hrbek, 25, a field artillery cannoneer with 3rd Battalion, 10th Marines, out of Camp
Lejeune, was killed in Helmand province, according to the Defense Department.
The New Jersey Bergen County Record reports that Hrbek was killed when he stepped on an improvised
explosive device.
The Westwood, N.J., native was going to be awarded a Bronze Star with combat “V” for saving the life of his
sergeant major, who stepped on an IED under enemy fire Dec. 23, the paper reported.
“I told him, we are proud of you for doing the right thing,” Hrbek’s step-father, Jaymee Hodges, told The
Record. “He didn’t think about it, he just did it. He loved being a Marine.”
Hrbek was a local firefighter who joined the Corps in January 2003 in response to the Sept. 11 attacks. His
two step-brothers are New York City firefighters, according to The Record.
He served two tours in Iraq between September 2007 and March 2009, according to a II Marine
Expeditionary Force release.
He planned to become a drill instructor when he returned from deployment this spring, his step-father said.
Lejeune Marine is killed in Afghanistan
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WESTWOOD, N.J. -- The Defense Department says a Marine sergeant based in North Carolina has been
killed in Afghanistan.
Sgt. Christopher R. Hrbek, of Westwood, died Thursday during a combat operation in Helmand province.
Family members say he was killed by an improvised explosive device.
Hrbek joined the Marines in 2002 shortly after graduating from Westwood High School.
He was a nine-year member of the Westwood Fire Department and came from a family of firefighters.
His stepfather, Jaymee Hodges, said Hrbek was due to receive a Bronze Star for valor for helping save the
life of a wounded comrade in December.
Hrbek, 25, was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, home based at
Camp Lejeune.
Homecoming: Fit for a hero
WEDNESDAY, 20 JANUARY 2010 10:46 JERRY DEMARCO
U.S. Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek will get his wish: When he returned from Afghanistan,
he told loved ones, he wanted the streets of Westwood decked in American flags.
Hrbek, 25, couldn't have imagined that his remains would be brought through town on
Thursday from Dover Air Force base, that countless flags would be waving as they lay in
state at a local church, and that an extended community would be mourning his sudden,
shocking death.
Collage by CLIFFVIEWPILOT.COM (no re-use without permission)
A procession will begin at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Third Avenue Bridge near the Ketler
school, which the Marine and volunteer firefighter attended. It will work its way through
town toward Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Hrbek's family will receive visitors at the church from 2 to 8 p.m. Friday. He'll be interred
Saturday at George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus following a 9 a.m. service at the
church.
Hrbek's remains were flown to Dover from Afghanistan on Saturday. Two days earlier, he
was killed when he stepped on a hidden device that exploded. (See: Bergen Marine killed in
Afghanistan.)
Everyone in town is expected to fly the Stars and Stripes in honor of the hometown hero.
Sadly, the church had been preparing a hero's welcome. (See: Hero's welcome was already
planned.)
Hrbek, who leaves a 23-year-old wife, Jamie, was about to be awarded a Bronze Star for
saving his sergeant major -- who, like him, stepped on an IED while under fire just before
Christmas.
Hrbek was scheduled to return home in May after three tours of duty in Iraq three times, first
in 2005, and then a hitch in Afghanistan that began only in November.
He was an artillery cannoneer assigned to 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine
Division, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., where he made several friends and became a fan of
the Carolina Panthers NFL team.
Hrbek's remains arrive in Dover on Saturday (AP PHOTO)
Hrbek's family asked that memorial gifts be made, in lieu of flowers, to Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box
758517 Topeka, KS 66675-8517 or Sgt. Christopher R. Hrbek, USMC Scholarship Fund, c/o Pascack
Community Bank, 21 Jefferson Avenue, Westwood, NJ 07675.
For more information: Becker Funeral Home, Westwood, NJ, 201-664-0292.
Hero's welcome was already planned for Bergen Marine killed in Afghanistan
SATURDAY, 16 JANUARY 2010 06:11 JERRY DEMARCO
ONLY ON CLIFFVIEW PILOT: U.S. Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek had only one wish for his homecoming: that the
streets of Westwood be lined with American flags. The route home for Hrbek, who was killed in Afghanistan on
Thursday, will be off the Garden State Parkway and then along Washington Avenue, likely next Wednesday,
CLIFFVIEW PILOT has learned.
Everyone in town is expected to fly the Stars and Stripes in honor of the hometown hero
Fellow congregants at Zion Lutheran Church had been preparing a festive homecoming. Bill Schmidt, a former Bergen
County prosecutor and now an elder with the church, had bought the Blue Star Service flag on Wednesday.
A day later, church members discovered that the 25-year-old sergeant had stepped on a hidden explosive device that
detonated and killed him.
"I am heart-sick beyond belief," said Schmidt, whose nephew was killed in battle just six years ago. "I can't even even
begin to imagine the family.... Well, actually, I can, since my wife, her sister, sister's kids, etc., went through it."
Hrbek, Schmidt said, "was a U.S. Marine sergeant and proud of it and all that it represented."
Now a community is preparing to bury the volunteer firefighter and career serviceman, who was killed while on
patrol in the dangerous Helmand Province.
As of Friday, Jan. 15, 2010, at least 878 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan
as a result of the "Operation Enduring Freedom" invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to an Associated
Press count.
The AP count is five more than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Friday at 10 a.m. EDT.
At least 675 military personnel died in the Afghan region as a result of hostile action, according to the military's
numbers.
Hrbek was scheduled to return home in May after three tours of duty in Iraq three times, first in 2005, and then a
hitch in Afghanistan that began only in November.
He was an artillery cannoneer assigned to 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, based at Camp
Lejeune, N.C., where he made several friends and became fan of the Carolina Panthers NFL team.
Hrbek, who leaves a 23-year-old wife, Jamie, was about to be awarded a Bronze Star for saving his sergeant major -who, like him, stepped on an IED while under fire just before Christmas.
Bergen Marine killed in Afghanistan
FRIDAY, 15 JANUARY 2010 19:09 JERRY DEMARCO
Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek of Westwood was as much the life of the party as he was the one officer you wanted
with you in the foxhole, those who knew him said. So the ache runs deep for many following the 25-year-old ranking
officer's death in Afghanistan yesterday when he stepped on a land mine.
Jaymee Hodges, owner of Hodges & Son Plumbing in Westwood, said his stepson was due home in May. Now, his
body will be flown to Dover Air Force base and brought from there to Becker Funeral Home in Westwood sometime
early next week, CLIFFVIEW PILOT has learned.
Hrbek was about to be awarded a bronze star for saving his sergeant major, who, like him, stepped on an IED while
under fire just before Christmas.
"I am the backbone of the Marine Corps," Hrbek wrote after being promoted to sergeant. "I serve as a vital link
between my commander and all enlisted Marines. I will never forget who I am or what I represent.
"I am now, more than ever, committed to excellence in all that I do, so that I can set the proper example for all other
Marines.
"Above all, I will be truthful in all that I say or do. My integrity shall be impeccable as my appearance....Though today
I instruct and supervise in peace, tomorrow I may lead in war."
He so dedicated his life to helping and protecting others that he also joked and kidded with the best of them, earning
the nickname "Dirty Squirrel."
U.S. Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek
Born on June 6, 1984, Hrbek was graduated from Westwood High School in 2002. A longtime volunteer fireman from
a family of firefighters, he joined the Marines in January 2003.
Surviving besides his stepfather are his mother, Cheryl; his father, Richard Hrbek; two stepbrothers, Jim and Beau,
both of them New York City firefighters; and two sisters, Amy and Lori.
Community mourns death of Sgt. Christopher
Hrbek
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
BY MEGAN BURROW
THE RECORD
OF COMMUNITY LIFE
Residents, family and friends mourned the death of Sgt. Christopher Hrbek this past week. Hrbek was
killed last Thursday, Jan. 14, when he stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) in the Helmand
Province of Afghanistan, where he was serving with the Marine Corps.
The 25-year-old Westwood resident was a 2002 graduate of Westwood Regional Jr./Sr. High School
and a nine-year member of the Westwood Fire Department.
Fast facts
On Thursday, Jan. 21 Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek’s body will be escorted by motorcade from Dover Air Force Base
to his hometown of Westwood.
Hrbek was killed last Thursday, Jan. 14 when he stepped on an improvised explosive device in the Helmand Province
of Afghanistan. In honor of one of Hrbek’s final wishes, those wishing to pay their respect to the fallen soldier have
been invited to line the streets along the procession route holding American flags.
The route is as follows:
* At 2:45 p.m. the motorcade will pass Westwood Jr./Sr. High School.
* At approximately 3 p.m. the procession will begin at the A field at Ketler Elementary School on Third Avenue.
* From Third Avenue the procession will continue onto Washington Avenue, turning left on Westwood Avenue before
turning right on Kinderkamack Road, ending at Becker Funeral Home at 219 Kinderkamack Road.
Hrbek comes from a family of firefighters, following his step-father and captain of the department
Jaymee Hodges, first joining as a cadet at age 16. His step-brothers Jim and Beau Hodges are members
of the New York City Fire Department.
Hodges said from the time he was a little boy, his step-son was interested in the military. After Hrbek
took the Marine Corps Agility Test in 10th grade, "he really fell in love with the corps," said Hodges.
"He read books, watched movies, anything about the corps he could find."
On his 18th birthday, shortly before graduating high school, Hrbek asked his step-father to take him to
the recruitment office in Hackensack to enlist. He left for basic training at Parris Island, S.C. the
following January.
"I said to him ‘follow your dreams, kid, you’re my hero.’ He went out the door and came back a marine
13 weeks later," said Hodges.
Westwood Fire Chief Marc Fedorchak said from the time he first met Hrbek when he was only 8 years
old, he had been nothing but a "great, great person."
"He would do anything for anybody," said Fedorchak. "He’s going to be sorely missed. It’s a huge loss
for the community." Hrbek had been on military leave, but remained an active member of the
department while in Afghanistan.
Councilman William Phayre, a member of the fire department, recalled a young man who always
wanted to help others. "This news has had a profound impact on our entire family," Phayre said Friday.
"He was one of the three original cadets in the department along with my son Bill. He was just a great
young man – if you were with him, you would be smiling."
As the news of Hrbek’s death spread, residents and community groups found ways to honor his life and
sacrifice, placing American flags outside their homes and sharing stories of the young man in living
rooms and on social networking Web sites.
The Borough of Westwood began its Jan. 19 council meeting with a moment of silence for Hrbek, and in
honor of one of Hrbek’s final wishes, members of the fire department and the Knights of Columbus
plan to line the streets Thursday, Jan. 21 holding American flags when Hrbek’s body returns home to
the borough. At approximately 2:45 p.m., the motorcade escorting Hrbek’s body from Dover Air Force
Base in Delaware will travel past Westwood High School, where students will pay their respect. The
procession will then begin at the A field at Ketler Elementary School on Third Avenue, turning onto
Washington Avenue, where it will travel past Veteran’s Park, before making its way to Becker Funeral
Home on Kinderkamack Road. Residents wishing to pay their respect to Hrbek have been invited to
line the streets with flags in their hands.
Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney instructed all county buildings to fly federal, state and
county flags half-staff in honor of the fallen Marine. "This is about doing what is right for one of
Bergen’s own," he stated in a press release Tuesday.
Hrbek was scheduled to return home in May and had planned to continue his career with the Marines
as a drill instructor.
During his nine years as a Marine, Hrbek opted to extend his service twice. Besides his last mission in
Afghanistan, he served three tours in Iraq, and one in Okinawa, Japan. Although he had an opportunity
to leave the military and join the New York City Fire Department last year, he chose to re-enlist instead.
"He thought about it and said to me ‘If I die a Marine I’ll die happy,’" said Hodges. "He just loved being
a soldier."
Mayor John Birkner said the borough will do everything it can to honor Hrbek’s memory "with dignity
and respect."
"He paid the supreme sacrifice and for that he deserves every honor that we can give to his memory,"
said Birkner. "Every night we watch the news and hear reports, but when the report comes home it just
truly takes your breath away and makes you reflect deeper on what these soldiers do every day to
defend American ideals. It’s remarkable, because they have volunteered to put themselves in harms
way."
Hrbek will be posthumously awarded a bronze star with valor for saving the life of his sergeant major
while on patrol in late December. Hrbek and a Navy corpsman rushed to the man’s aid after his legs
were blown off by an IED, carried him to safety, and applied tourniquets to stop the bleeding. On
Christmas Eve, Hrbek was met by two military generals who informed him he would be nominated for
the medal. "I know how proud he was. I’m just happy he knew that he was going to be a decorated
soldier," Hodges said. Marines presented Hodges and his wife with a Gold Star for their sacrifice on
Tuesday.
Hodges expressed his pride in the step-son he watched grow from a mischievous little boy into a
decorated war hero. "He went away to the Marine Corps when he was just a kid, but when he came back
he was a man we all admired."
A wake will be held at Zion Lutheran Church on Second Avenue from 2 to 8 p.m. on Jan. 22. A funeral
mass will be held at 9 a.m. the following day at the church, with internment to follow at George
Washington Memorial Park in Paramus. Hrbek is survived by his wife Jamie Wengerter, mother
Cheryl, step-father Jaymee, biological father Richard Hrbek, sisters Amy and Lori and step-brothers
Jim and Beau.
E-mail: burrow@northjersey.com
New Jersey Marine Dies in Afghanistan
Hero was also firefighter in Westwood
Updated: Friday, 15 Jan 2010, 10:20 PM EST
Published : Friday, 15 Jan 2010, 4:14 PM EST
MYFOX NEW YORK STAFF REPORT
MYFOXNY.COM - A U.S. Marine from New Jersey has been killed in combat in Afghanistan, the Pentagon
said.
Sgt. Christopher R. Hrbek, 25, of Westwood, died Jan. 14 during combat operations in Helmand province.
Hrbek was a field artillery gunner assigned to 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II
Marine Expeditionary Force, based out of Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Hrbek, a graduate of Westwood High School, was also a firefighter with the Westwood Fire Department,
which he joined as a cadet when he was a teenager, according to a NorthJersey.com report.
Hrbek was due to be awarded the Bronze Star with Valor for saving the life of his sergeant major in
December, the report said.
He joined the Marines in 2003, served two tours in Iraq, and deployed to Afghanistan in November 2009,
according to a public affairs official with the 2nd Marines Division.
Hrbek's decorations include two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, the Combat Action Ribbon,
and Good Conduct Medal.
Slain hero Sgt. Christopher Hrbek begins journey home from
Afghanistan Michael Daly Thursday, January 21st 2010, 4:00 AM
Ruark/AP: Marines carry remains of Sgt. Christopher Hrbek at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Below,
Sgt. Hrbek at Fleet Week.
As the nation's attention was divided between Haiti and Massachusetts, the remains of 25-year-old Marine
Sgt. Christopher Hrbek began the journey home from Afghanistan.
Hrbek had been called to join his two older brothers in the FDNY, but he decided he was not done being a
Marine even after three combat tours in Iraq.
He deployed to Afghanistan in November, just before President Obama officially announced the surge. Two
days before Christmas, Hrbek braved intense gunfire to save the life of a Marine sergeant major who lost
both legs in an IED explosion.
Last week, Hrbek stepped on an IED, but he was instantly beyond saving.
On Tuesday, a casualty officer read aloud a letter to Hrbek's family from Sgt. Maj. Raymond Mackey, whose
life Hrbek had saved before losing his own.
"Thanking us for having a son who was such a true Marine, who thought nothing of getting in harm's way to
save his life," said Hrbek's stepfather, Jaymee Hodges.
This morning, the family will drive to the military mortuary in Dover, Del. They will escort Hrbek's coffin home
to the New Jersey town of Westwood, across the river from the city where his brothers serve with Rescue 1
and Engine 59.
The motorcade will proceed down flag-lined streets, passing his elementary school and high school.
Students will stand outside in tribute to this magnificent young man who died on a fourth combat tour.
The funeral will be on Saturday. Hrbek will receive the Bronze Star posthumously for actions he described
in a phone call to his family on Christmas Day.
Hrbek told them he had been on patrol when there was an explosion 10 paces behind him. He had turned to
see Mackey still in the air, both legs gone, an arm in bad shape. Then came the gunfire.
"He said, 'I heard this boom. I saw what happened and dragged him out of harm's way and just started
wrapping him with tourniquets with the Navy corpsman," the stepfather recalled.
Hrbek said the corpsman had applied seven tourniquets and stopped the bleeding. Hrbek also mentioned
that two Marine generals, one a four-star, had sought him out on Christmas Eve to commend him and say
he was being put in for a Bronze Star for valor.
"I said, 'A four-star general came?'" his stepfather recalled. "He said, 'Yeah. He's a really nice guy.'"
The stepfather was all the more proud because Hrbek spoke as if he had only been doing what a Marine
does. "When you're humble about things, it means you're doing it from the heart," the stepfather said.
And everybody who knew Hrbek knew how much he loved serving his country as a Marine. He had made
his feelings about being a Marine known when he was in New York on Fleet Week and stopped by Rescue
1 to see his brother, Jim Hodges.
"I could do this for the rest of my life!" Hrbek declared.
On into the New Year, Hrbek managed to call home from Afghanistan every few days. He offered a frontline Marine's view of the situation in Helmand Province.
"He said, 'It's bad,'" the stepfather recalled. "He never said that when he was in Iraq."
Hrbek reported to the family that the man he had saved was bound for the National Naval Medical Center in
Bethesda, Maryland.
"He said to me, 'I sent word back you and mom would go down to Maryland to see Sgt. Mackey,'" the
stepfather remembered.
Two days after the last phone call, the stepfather encountered two Marines as he returned home. He told
them he knew why they were there.
"I said, 'When?'" the stepfather recalled. "They said that morning. I said, 'How?' They said, 'An IED.'" On
Monday, a Marine presented Hrbek's mother with a Gold Star in recognition of her unfathomable loss.
The Marine then read the letter from the sergeant major. "He's forever grateful," the stepfather said. In the
days ahead, the stepfather and the mother will be traveling to Maryland to visit Mackey, just as they told
their Marine they would.
"As soon as we get Christopher buried and get a little settled," the stepfather said.
He paused. "It'll be good." mdaly@nydailynews.com
Re: Sgt Christopher R. Hrbek USMC, 25, Westwood, NJ (Afghanistan)
Marine awaiting Bronze Star killed by IED
Staff report
Posted : Friday Jan 15, 2010 16:24:30 EST
A North Carolina-based Marine in line to receive a medal for valor died in Afghanistan on Thursday,
according to the Defense Department and media reports.
Sgt. Christopher R. Hrbek, 25, a field artillery cannoneer with 3rd Battalion, 10th Marines, out of Camp
Lejeune, was killed in Helmand province, according to the Defense Department.
The New Jersey Bergen County Record reports that Hrbek was killed when he stepped on an improvised
explosive device.
The Westwood, N.J., native was going to be awarded a Bronze Star with combat “V” for saving the life of
his sergeant major, who stepped on an IED under enemy fire Dec. 23, the paper reported.
“I told him, we are proud of you for doing the right thing,” Hrbek’s step-father, Jaymee Hodges, told The
Record. “He didn’t think about it, he just did it. He loved being a Marine.”
Hrbek was a local firefighter who joined the Corps in January 2003 in response to the Sept. 11 attacks. His
two step-brothers are New York City firefighters, according to The Record.
He served two tours in Iraq between September 2007 and March 2009, according to a II Marine
Expeditionary Force release.
He planned to become a drill instructor when he returned from deployment this spring, his step-father said.
In Westwood, a hometown turns out for fallen
Marine
Thursday, January 21, 2010
LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY JANUARY 21, 2010, 8:49 PM
BY MIKE KELLY
THE RECORD
STAFF WRITER
With the mournful hum of dozens of bagpipes, the gentle flapping of hundreds of flags and the indelible
silence of thousands of residents lining its streets, Westwood welcomed home a local boy Thursday who
gave his life in a faraway war.
KEVIN R. WEXLER / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Buy this photo
Marine Sgt. Nicholas Brown sheds tears at Becker Funeral Home in Westwood.
Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek, 25, was killed a week ago in the hills of Afghanistan’s Helmand
Province after stepping on a booby-trapped bomb.
His wake is scheduled for Friday afternoon at the Zion Lutheran Church, and his funeral will be held on
Saturday at the church. But in the fading afternoon sunlight on Thursday, Westwood honored Hrbek
with a solemn procession.
Funerals are not just moments of sadness. For some towns, they are moments of proud unity, too. In
Westwood on Thursday, that mix of unmitigated sadness and unity were on full display.
Hrbek deployed with his Marine unit to Afghanistan in November. Before that, he served three combat
tours with the Marines in Iraq.
NICK BRANDRETH / SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
A giant American flag hung between ladder trucks from the Emerson and Woodcliff
Lake fire departments.
And only weeks earlier in Afghanistan, he dashed through enemy gunfire to save the life of another
Marine who had stepped on a similar bomb – an act for which the Marines had nominated Hrbek for a
Bronze Star medal for valor.
But on Thursday, the Central Bergen County town that Hrbek called home before enlisting in the
Marines came to a standstill.
“You hear about this kind of thing everyday in the news, but it doesn’t really touch home until it’s
someone from home,” said Brian Schumeyer, 32 of Emerson, who grew up in Westwood and took the
day off work.
With a color guard of Westwood firefighters marching in front and followed by five Marines from his
former unit who had driven all night from North Carolina, a hearse bearing Hrbek’s flag-draped coffin
rolled slowly past his high school and elementary school – and hundreds of students lining the sidewalk
and holding small flags.
“What an extraordinary day,” said Hrbek’s father, Richard, who rode in the procession. “He knew so
many people, but the thing that struck me was all the young children.”
Some people clapped softly. Others dabbed their eyes with tissues. Many just placed their right hand
over their heart and silently mouthed “thank you” to Hrbek’s wife, Jamie Lynn Wengerter, and other
relatives riding in a convoy of SUVs and cars.
There were senior citizens and young men in camouflage National Guard uniforms. There were painters
who laid down their brushes and hair stylists who set aside their scissors, joggers in bright jackets and
business women in long wool coats.
Police estimated the overall crowd at more than 5,000.
“Our family loved Chris very much,” said Hrbek’s mother-in-law, Ramona Wengerter of Emerson. “The
whole community is turning out. It’s very honorable. The Marines are very honorable. The police and
firemen are very proud of him. It’s wonderful how they are welcoming him home.”
Indeed, among many firefighters, Hrbek was seen as something of a younger brother, in part because
he joined Westwood’s volunteer department when he was only 16.
Hrbek’s stepfather, Jaymee Hodges, is still senior captain of Westwood’s department. Hrbek’s two
stepbrothers, Jim and Beau Hodges, are New York City firefighters.
“It’s a close knit department,” said retired Westwood firefighter Nick Ariemma. “The fire department is
like a piece of the heart of the town.”
Several of Hrbek’s fellow Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, echoed similar feelings.
“Once you’re together, it’s like a family,” said Marine Staff Sgt. Jose Galvan, who served with Hrbek in
Iraq. “He was always looking out for his brother Marines.”
With pipers striking up a rendition of the Marine Corps hymn at the town’s center, the procession
passed under a giant American flag that hung between ladder trucks from the Emerson and Woodcliff
Lake fire departments. Then, the marchers turned on to Westwood’s main business district, where fire
fighters from dozens of neighboring towns and New York City stood shoulder-to-shoulder, each one
holding an American flag.
Behind the fire fighters – some in rows three deep – stood thousands of ordinary people. On other
streets, hundreds more waited.
“We felt it was important to be here,” said Peter Kramer, as he stood by the Ketler Elementary School
with three of his children. “How else do you get to say farewell to a hometown hero who gave his life so
we could stand here and do this?”
A few hundred yards away, Chris Rolfs, a local stone mason, waved an American flag.
“This is about our country,” he said.
On another block, Susan Kalman of Paramus held a hand-lettered sign that proclaimed, “Thank you
Dirty Squirrel” – a reference to Hrbek’s Facebook nickname.
For Kalman, however, the procession struck a far more personal chord. Her oldest son recently enlisted
in the Marines and is due to complete basic training.
“This hits home,” Kalman said as Hrbek’s hearse went by. “My son could be overseas next month. But
for the grace of God, this could be us.”
The procession ended at the Becker Funeral home, with Hrbek’s Marine buddies standing at attention
in the driveway and many relatives wiping away tears.
But as six Westwood firefighters lifted Hrbek’s coffin from the hearse and a group of Lutheran, Baptist,
Episcopalian and Roman Catholic clergy watched, there was one last salute – from more than 40
bagpipers from police and fire departments from across northern New Jersey.
As Hrbek’s coffin was carried up the steps of the funeral home, the pipers struck up “Amazing Grace.”
E-mail: kellym@northjersey.com
http://www.northjersey.com/news/012110_In_Westwood_a_hometown_turns_out_for
_fallen_Marine.html?c=y&page=2
Stonybrook learns of Marine's death
Sunday, January 17, 2010
LAST UPDATED: MONDAY JANUARY 18, 2010, 6:51 AM
BY DEBORAH WALSH
SUBURBAN TRENDS
STAFF WRITER
The school community mourns the passing of U.S. Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek, who was killed in
action in Afghanistan last Thursday.
Sgt. Hrbek, 25, was killed when he stepped on an improvised explosive device in the Hamal Province.
He is the brother of Lori Hrbek, fourth- grade teacher at the Stonybrook School. Hrbek invited her
brother in to speak to Stonybrook students. He had visited the school several times, the last time being
last November before his fourth deployment.
James Opiekun, superintendent of schools, relayed the somber news to the school board at its Jan. 14
meeting.
"I have some sad news. Back in November, Sgt. Christopher Hrbek, who is the brother of fourth-grade
teacher, Lori Hrbek, visited our kids. He's had several tours of duty including in Jordan and Iraq. Lori
was notified that her brother was killed in Afghanistan," said Opiekun. "Our sympathies go out to Lori
and her family."
Opiekun said counselors would be made available to the students on Friday.
Jodi Mulholland, principal at Stonybrook School, said a faculty meeting was held to discuss how the
matter would be handled. On Friday morning counselors, including the student assistance coordinator,
guidance counselors, director of guidance, child study team members, school psychologist, and director
of special services were available to the students. The superintendent of schools was also in attendance,
she indicated.
"We talked to the kids. It was important for them to know that Ms. Hrbek was OK. We share with the
kids what they need to know. I'm sure parents will also speak with them in the sensitive way they
choose," said Mulholland. "The support is here for the students and teachers. We're one family here."
According to Mulholland, Sgt. Hrbek was deployed in November for a seven-month tour in
Afghanistan. He had already been to Jordan, Greece and Iraq. Sgt. Hrbek spoke to the students about
his job and his duties. He told them about what basic training was like and even led the students in
some exercises.
"Lori was so proud of him. He was passionate about the career he chose. He was passionate about
serving his country," said Mulholland. "We are so proud of Lori. Our support is here for her. Lori is in
charge of our environmental club here. She always gives back to the kids and community. She always
looks for ways to help out."
Mulholland said Lori Hrbek would run drives to collect different supplies for the Marines. Students also
wrote letters and sent cards to Sgt. Hrbek, she said.
Sgt. Hrbek is a graduate of Westwood High School. He was a volunteer fireman in Westwood.
Mulholland said Sgt. Hrbek was slated to receive a Bronze Star for valor. In a sad coincidence, Hrbek
was to receive the Bronze Star for saving the life of his sergeant major who stepped on an IED in
December and suffered horrific injuries.
E-mail: walshde@northjersey.com
Bergen County Honors a Fallen Hero
Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek is coming home
By PAT BATTLE
Updated 5:46 PM EST, Thu, Jan 21, 2010
Bob Struss puts American Flags on his fence Jan. 21, outside his home in Westwood, N.J. as the small
northern New Jersey town prepares for the return of Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek.
Some are small, on slender wooden poles, stuck into the frostbitten soil.
Others fly from telephone poles and lightposts, flapping majestically in the cold breeze of a winter's day.
Some fly at half staff from flagpoles outside homes, government and commercial buildings.
And there are hundreds of them... American flags gracing virtually every street of this Bergen County
community - Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek is coming home.
"Between the tears, there is a lot of joy," said Westwood Mayor John Birkner Jr. "Chris died doing what he
loved doing, he was a Marine through and through."
The 25 year old U.S. Marine Corp Sergeant was killed January 14 when his family says he stepped on an
improvised explosive device (IED) in the Hamal Province of Afghanistan.
"He was my hero" said his stepfather Jaymee Hodges.
A local fire captain, Hrbek had followed his dad's long family history of public service - he was a firefighter
here for 9 years before going off to serve a greater community - his country. His father said he knew the
dangers he was facing and had told him.
"If I don't make it, please line the streets with American flags to bring me home," recalled the Mayor
Birkner. And that they did.
Two fire trucks hoisted a massive American flag into the air across the road in front of Westwood Regional
Jr-Sr. High school where Christopher was graduated in 2002. He enlisted in the Marine Corps on his 18th
birthday. And re-inlisted twice since then - serving three tours of duty in Iraq.
"This town just doesn't know what to do with this," said Lee Tremble, owner of the Iron horse restaurant
across from Veterans Park where the procession will soon pass.
"This is a close knit town and to lose someone we all know and love, it's overwhelming."
(AP)
Firefighters carry the body of Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010, in Westwood, N.J. Hrbek, an
artilleryman, was killed Jan. 14 by an improvised explosive device during a combat operation in Helmand Province in
Afghanistan.
(AP)
Police officer Catherine Prior salutes the casket of Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010, in
Westwood, N.J. Hrbek, an artilleryman, was killed Jan. 14, by an improvised explosive device during a combat
operation in Helmand Province. Prior said she grew up with Hrbek in Westwood.
(AP)
People line the street Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010, in Westwood, N.J., as a hearse carries the body of Marine Sgt.
Christopher Hrbek, an artilleryman, was killed Jan. 14 by an improvised explosive device during a combat operation in
Helmand Province.
(AP)
A Marine carry team carries a transfer case containing the remains of Sgt. Christopher R. Hrbek Saturday, Jan. 16,
2010 at Dover Air Force Base, Del. According to the Department of Defense, Hrbek, 25, of Westwood, N.J., died Jan.
14 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
(AP)
A Marine carry team carries a transfer case containing the remains of Sgt. Christopher R. Hrbek Saturday, Jan. 16,
2010 at Dover Air Force Base, Del. According to the Department of Defense, Hrbek, 25, of Westwood, N.J., died Jan.
14 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
(AP)
A Marine carry team stands near a transfer case containing the remains of Sgt. Christopher R. Hrbek as Air Force
chaplain Lt. Col. Carl Groh, right, reads a prayer Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010 at Dover Air Force Base, Del. According to
the Department of Defense, Hrbek, 25, of Westwood, N.J., died Jan. 14 while supporting combat operations in
Helmand province, Afghanistan.
Sgt. Christopher Richard HRBEK
HRBEK Sgt. Christopher Richard, USMC, of Westwood, NJ on Thursday, January 14, 2010.
Husband of Jamie Lynn Wengerter. Devoted son of Cheryl Hodges and her husband JayMee,
Richard Hrbek and his wife Gail. Dear brother of Amy Dellentash and her husband David, Lori
Hrbek, Jim Hodges and his wife Randi, Beau Hodges and his wife Nicole, Jerry Lo Proto, Noel
Irwin and her husband Patrick. He is survived by his grandparents Dennis and Anne Halpin,
Bud and Vikki Juckett, the late Richard and the late Marion Hrbek, Donald and Kathryn Hodges, Ben and Marcy
Randazzo. Beloved uncle of Connor McCarron and Luke Dellentash. Son-in-law of John and Ramona Wengerter. The
family will receive their friends and relatives at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Second Avenue and Elm Street,
Westwood, NJ on Friday from 2-8 PM. Funeral Service Saturday at 9 AM at church followed by services at George
Washington Memorial Park, Paramus, NJ. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts to Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box
758517 Topeka, KS 66675-8517 or Sgt. Christopher R. Hrbek, USMC Scholarship Fund, c/o Pascack Community Bank,
21 Jefferson Avenue, Westwood, NJ 07675 would be appreciated. Arrangements by Becker Funeral Home,
Westwood, NJ, 201-664-0292.
Published in The Record and Herald News on January 20, 2010
Hero's funeral planned for Westwood Marine
killed in Afghanistan
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY JANUARY 21, 2010, 9:11 AM
BY DEENA YELLIN
THE RECORD
STAFF WRITER
WESTWOOD – Westwood is lining its streets with American flags to welcome home a fallen son.
Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek with his dad, Richard Hrbek.
Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek, a field artillery cannoneer, was killed on Jan. 14 when he stepped on an
explosive device in the Helmand province of Afghanistan.
His remains will be escorted by motorcade from Dover Air Base Thursday morning. A procession will
begin at 3 p.m. at Third Avenue by the Ketler School, where Hrbek attended elementary school, and
end at Becker Funeral Home.
“Everyone is going to have flags out. It’s going to be exactly what Chris would have wanted,” said
Richard Hrbek, his father. “It’s going to be a real hero’s welcome.”
A wake will be held on Friday from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Zion Lutheran Church, and the funeral will take
place there on Saturday at 9 a.m., followed by burial at George Washington Cemetery in Paramus.
The procession on Thursday will pass Westwood High School, where Hrbek was a 2002 graduate and
member of the wrestling team. Students will come outside at 2:45 p.m. to salute the fallen Marine.
Rick Woods, head of the Westwood Department of Public Works, worked to decorate Westwood’s
streets with the American flags that are usually displayed on Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day.
“We have them on Third and Kinderkamack all the way up to Ketler School. They are 3 x 5 American
flags on five foot poles,” he said, adding that he can’t remember a time when Westwood did this for
anyone else.
Jaymee Hodges, Hrbek’s stepfather, said that the welcome home procession is something Hrbek told
his friends he wanted in the event that he was killed.
“He wanted the streets lined with stars and stripes. He was into patriotism and our country,” Hodges
said.
E-mail: yellin@northjersey.com
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported how Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek's
body will be returned to Westwood. Hrbek's body will be escorted by motorcade.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFGRIBtf440
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGMEFQG3RGo
Community mourns death of Sgt. Christopher
Hrbek
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY JANUARY 20, 2010, 12:46 PM
BY MEGAN BURROW
THE RECORD
OF COMMUNITY LIFE
Residents, family and friends mourned the death of Sgt. Christopher Hrbek this past week. Hrbek was
killed last Thursday, Jan. 14, when he stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) in the Helmand
Province of Afghanistan, where he was serving with the Marine Corps.
The 25-year-old Westwood resident was a 2002 graduate of Westwood Regional Jr./Sr. High School
and a nine-year member of the Westwood Fire Department.
Hrbek comes from a family of firefighters, following his step-father and captain of the department
Jaymee Hodges, first joining as a cadet at age 16. His step-brothers Jim and Beau Hodges are members
of the New York City Fire Department.
Hodges said from the time he was a little boy, his step-son was interested in the military. After Hrbek
took the Marine Corps Agility Test in 10th grade, "he really fell in love with the corps," said Hodges.
"He read books, watched movies, anything about the corps he could find."
On his 18th birthday, shortly before graduating high school, Hrbek asked his step-father to take him to
the recruitment office in Hackensack to enlist. He left for basic training at Parris Island, S.C. the
following January.
"I said to him ‘follow your dreams, kid, you’re my hero.’ He went out the door and came back a marine
13 weeks later," said Hodges.
Westwood Fire Chief Marc Fedorchak said from the time he first met Hrbek when he was only 8 years
old, he had been nothing but a "great, great person."
"He would do anything for anybody," said Fedorchak. "He’s going to be sorely missed. It’s a huge loss
for the community." Hrbek had been on military leave, but remained an active member of the
department while in Afghanistan.
Councilman William Phayre, a member of the fire department, recalled a young man who always
wanted to help others. "This news has had a profound impact on our entire family," Phayre said Friday.
"He was one of the three original cadets in the department along with my son Bill. He was just a great
young man – if you were with him, you would be smiling."
As the news of Hrbek’s death spread, residents and community groups found ways to honor his life and
sacrifice, placing American flags outside their homes and sharing stories of the young man in living
rooms and on social networking Web sites.
The Borough of Westwood began its Jan. 19 council meeting with a moment of silence for Hrbek, and in
honor of one of Hrbek’s final wishes, members of the fire department and the Knights of Columbus
plan to line the streets Thursday, Jan. 21 holding American flags when Hrbek’s body returns home to
the borough. At approximately 2:45 p.m., the motorcade escorting Hrbek’s body from Dover Air Force
Base in Delaware will travel past Westwood High School, where students will pay their respect. The
procession will then begin at the A field at Ketler Elementary School on Third Avenue, turning onto
Washington Avenue, where it will travel past Veteran’s Park, before making its way to Becker Funeral
Home on Kinderkamack Road. Residents wishing to pay their respect to Hrbek have been invited to
line the streets with flags in their hands.
Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney instructed all county buildings to fly federal, state and
county flags half-staff in honor of the fallen Marine. "This is about doing what is right for one of
Bergen’s own," he stated in a press release Tuesday.
Hrbek was scheduled to return home in May and had planned to continue his career with the Marines
as a drill instructor.
During his nine years as a Marine, Hrbek opted to extend his service twice. Besides his last mission in
Afghanistan, he served three tours in Iraq, and one in Okinawa, Japan. Although he had an opportunity
to leave the military and join the New York City Fire Department last year, he chose to re-enlist instead.
"He thought about it and said to me ‘If I die a Marine I’ll die happy,’" said Hodges. "He just loved being
a soldier."
Mayor John Birkner said the borough will do everything it can to honor Hrbek’s memory "with dignity
and respect."
"He paid the supreme sacrifice and for that he deserves every honor that we can give to his memory,"
said Birkner. "Every night we watch the news and hear reports, but when the report comes home it just
truly takes your breath away and makes you reflect deeper on what these soldiers do every day to
defend American ideals. It’s remarkable, because they have volunteered to put themselves in harms
way."
Hrbek will be posthumously awarded a bronze star with valor for saving the life of his sergeant major
while on patrol in late December. Hrbek and a Navy corpsman rushed to the man’s aid after his legs
were blown off by an IED, carried him to safety, and applied tourniquets to stop the bleeding. On
Christmas Eve, Hrbek was met by two military generals who informed him he would be nominated for
the medal. "I know how proud he was. I’m just happy he knew that he was going to be a decorated
soldier," Hodges said. Marines presented Hodges and his wife with a Gold Star for their sacrifice on
Tuesday.
Hodges expressed his pride in the step-son he watched grow from a mischievous little boy into a
decorated war hero. "He went away to the Marine Corps when he was just a kid, but when he came back
he was a man we all admired."
A wake will be held at Zion Lutheran Church on Second Avenue from 2 to 8 p.m. on Jan. 22. A funeral
mass will be held at 9 a.m. the following day at the church, with internment to follow at George
Washington Memorial Park in Paramus. Hrbek is survived by his wife Jamie Wengerter, mother
Cheryl, step-father Jaymee, biological father Richard Hrbek, sisters Amy and Lori and step-brothers
Jim and Beau.
E-mail: burrow@northjersey.com
Bergen County town honors Marine killed in Afghanistan with display of
flags
By Mark DiIonno
January 21, 2010, 10:00PM
WESTWOOD -- When Sgt. Christopher Hrbek came home today, the people of Westwood
stood up for him.
The 25-year-old Marine was killed on Jan. 14 in Afghanistan, and his town wanted to
give him a hero’s return.
Everyone was asked to display flags on their property, or stand with a flag to honor Hrbek has
his body was brought home from Dover Air Force base in Delaware this weekend’s funeral.
By this morning, flags were everywhere. On every home and lawn, in every store. Half-staff
at the schools and the post office. A giant flag was draped over main street, billowing in the
fresh January air.
There was John Misha was putting up flags along the “bare spots” on the route with his helper
Juan Tamayo. Misha, a retired fireman who worked at Ground Zero, said he knew “the kid”
and his family.
“His stepfather and I grew up here in Westwood. We’re Westwood boys.” He carefully climbed
a ladder, trembling with cold and grief, to put a flag up on a phone pole.
At LN Grande 5 & 10, the flag display was front and center, as always. Ida Aboulsaoud was
there, buying one to hang in her bagel store. By midday, Korean nail salons and Chinese
restaurants all had flags in their windows. Local landscapers draped flags from high-atop their
cherry pickers.
U.S. Marines Sgt. Chris Hrbek
And so a few thousand people lined the procession route. Hrbek was a Westwood fire
volunteer, and firemen came from about 30 towns in their dress blues to honor him. Old
veterans came in their organization jackets and caps. There were soldiers, sailors and
Marines. Women walked through the crowds, handing out flags. Mothers came with children,
some in strollers. People put Stars & Stripes bandannas on their dogs.
“This is what Westwood does,” said Skip Kelly, a former mayor.
It was a Fourth of July parade, but without noise. The fire engine sirens did not scream, the
crowd did not cheer. There were no brass marching bands, only the solemn strains of the bag
pipes, the lonely rolls of the snare drums and slow heartbeat of the bass.
In the downtown, the stores emptied as the procession passed. People saluted, or put their
hands over their hearts as the black hearse with the flag-draped casket went by. Men were
stoned-faced behind sunglasses. The women who came out of the hair salons wept.
Somehow, the babies knew to be quiet.
Chris Hrbek was a Westwood boy. His stepfather, Jaymee Hodges, was fire chief and is now a
captain. His step-brothers were members, too. Chris started at 16, in the cadet program.
Monte Lucious, himself from a family of Marines and Westwood firefighters, put up a sign on
the funeral home lawn today thanking Hrbek for his service.
“This is Mayberry here, man,” said Lucious. “Everybody knows everybody. He was good kid,
from stand-up people.”
He went away as Chris Hrbek, a hometown boy, off to the Mideast war with good wishes and
grave concerns.
He came back as U.S. Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek, a three-tour veteran of Iraq and a
casualty of Afghanistan, brought home in a red, white and blue hero’s procession.
In mid-procession, Hrbek’s hearse passed Veteran’s Memorial Park in the town center, where
there is a monument to all the Westwood war dead.
Three Westwood boys died in World War I. Twenty-nine died in WW II, back when Westwood
only had a population of 6,100. Korea and Vietnam each claimed one. All those names,
engraved in the town’s war dead stone. And now they welcome Christopher Hrbek, whose
name will be etched and unveiled in a ceremony on Memorial Day. He is home.
Mitsu Yasukawa/ The Star-LedgerThe body of Sgt. Christopher Hrbek returns to his hometown during a
procession in Westwood as firefighters hold flags.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDy0Xrbmkos
Thousands Show Up To Pay
Respects To Marine Sgt.
Christopher Hrbek, Who Was
Killed In Action In Afghanistan
WCBS-TV 1/22/10
A final tribute was held Thursday for a native son of New Jersey, who
made the ultimate sacrifice.
Marine, brother and son Christopher Hrbek was killed during his
fourth tour of duty in Afghanistan.
CBS 2 HD was there to witness a state-wide tribute to a hero.
Family, veterans, firefighters and little children were all waving flags, all there to say goodbye to the Sgt.
Hrbek, a 25-year-old Marine killed in Afghanistan.
Thousands of people packed the streets of Westwood. People who didn't even know him came to the small
Bergen County town, where the war hero had been a volunteer firefighter, a Cub Scout, an all-American
kid.
"I'm proud of America. I'm proud of the kids that serve,"
said Stephen
Gaunt of the Westwood Veteran's Council.
"He was a hero to our country," one girl said.
"I was compelled to come today to support one of our fallen brothers," a National Guardsman said.
Compelled to come because, as friend Lee Tremble, put it: "He represents every man and woman that
serves."
"He was our hero before. He didn't have to die to be our hero. He was our hero when he signed up for the
Marines."
Dedicated to service, Sgt. Hrbek's step-brothers are in the FDNY. That's why so many of the bravest stood
in the cold to pay their respects.
His step-father, Jaymee Hodges, is a fire captain.
"He knew in his soul he wanted to be a Marine," Hodges said. "And Christopher at, drank and slept the
Marine Corps."
Hrbek was on his fourth tour of duty when he stepped on an IED. Right before Christmas he had saved the
life of a fellow Marine, braving gunfire.
"He's the kind of kid you can't afford to lose," friend Adrianne Viegueras said. "I hope not too many more
have to go."
Hrbek's funeral will be held Saturday. For his bravery he'll receive the Bronze Star posthumously.
They Came From All Over To Honor Fallen NJ Marine
Thousands Show Up To Pay Respects To Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek, Who Was Killed In Action In
Afghanistan
WESTWOOD, N.J. (CBS) ―
Click to enlarge
Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek
A final tribute was held Thursday for a native son of New Jersey, who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Marine, brother and son Christopher Hrbek was killed during his fourth tour of duty in Afghanistan.
CBS 2 HD was there to witness a state-wide tribute to a hero.
Family, veterans, firefighters and little children were all waving flags, all there to say goodbye to the Sgt.
Hrbek, a 25-year-old Marine killed in Afghanistan.
Thousands of people packed the streets of Westwood. People who didn't even know him came to the small
Bergen County town, where the war hero had been a volunteer firefighter, a Cub Scout, an all-American kid.
"I'm proud of America. I'm proud of the kids that serve," said Stephen Gaunt of the Westwood Veteran's
Council.
"He was a hero to our country," one girl said.
"I was compelled to come today to support one of our fallen brothers," a National Guardsman said.
Compelled to come because, as friend Lee Tremble, put it: "He represents every man and woman that
serves."
"He was our hero before. He didn't have to die to be our hero. He was our hero when he signed up for the
Marines."
Dedicated to service, Sgt. Hrbek's step-brothers are in the FDNY. That's why so many of the bravest stood
in the cold to pay their respects.
His step-father, Jaymee Hodges, is a fire captain.
"He knew in his soul he wanted to be a Marine," Hodges said. "And Christopher at, drank and slept the
Marine Corps."
Hrbek was on his fourth tour of duty when he stepped on an IED. Right before Christmas he had saved the
life of a fellow Marine, braving gunfire.
"He's the kind of kid you can't afford to lose," friend Adrianne Viegueras said. "I hope not too many more
have to go."
Hrbek's funeral will be held Saturday. For his bravery he'll receive the Bronze Star posthumously.
http://www.thebravest.com/FDNYNewsArchive/10/01/22d.htm
http://wcbstv.com/services/popoff.aspx?categoryId=48&videoI
d=137604@wcbs.dayport.com&videoPlayStatus=false&videoSto
ryIds=137604@wcbs.dayport.com&videoTime=&stationName=
WCBS&
NJ Marine Dies-Saves fellow Marine - Awarded Bronze
Star
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by Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke | January 18, 2010 at 04:01 am
816 views | 54 Recommendations | 15 comments
Photos
Much is often made of fighting for flag and country. This story outlines, once again, that
soldiers on the battlefield fight for their buddies.
Christopher Hrbek, 25, of Westwood, New Jersey did just that. After a fellow Marine
Master Sergeant had stepped on a roadside bomb, he and a Corpsman rushed to the
Master Sergeant's aid. Under heavy enemy fire they applying tourniquets to the
stumps of the Marines severed legs. Their efforts saved the Master Sergeant's life.
Christopher phoned home on Christmas Day and advised his family that he had been
awarded the Bronze Star.
Christopher Hrbek was killed stepped on an IED on Thursday, January 14th while on
patrol in Helmand Province.
His family has been told that he will receive the Bronze Star posthumously.
Christopher had three previous tours in Iraq.
My hat is off to a true American hero who, without regard for his own life, saved that of
another Marine.
May he rest in peace. My sincere condolences go to the family of Christopher.
Semper Fidelity.
WESTWOOD -- On Christmas Day, Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek called home to Bergen
County from Afghanistan with the news he had been nominated for a Bronze Star.
A fellow Marine, a master sergeant, had been gravely injured by a bomb buried in the dirt.
Under heavy enemy fire, Hrbek and a Navy corpsman had rushed to the man’s aid, applying
tourniquets to the stumps of his severed legs and carrying him to safety.
Fond farewell for NJ Marine killed in
Afghanistan
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Eyewitness News
WESTWOOD, N.J. -- Hundreds of mourners gather in northern New Jersey for the funeral of a Marine
killed in Afghanistan.
Speaking during Saturday's service at the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Westwood, friends and
family said Sgt.
Christopher Hrbek truly enjoyed serving his country. They said the 25-year-old artilleryman found his true
calling in the Marines, describing it as "the perfect avenue" for his seemingly boundless energy.
About 400 mourners packed the Bergen County church, while hundreds more gathered outside and listened
to the service over loudspeakers. And as the procession made its way to the cemetery, residents clutching
American flags lined local streets to watch.
Related Content
More: Contact the WABC-TV New Jersey Bureau
Hrbek was killed Jan. 14 by an improvised explosive device during a combat operation in Helmand Province. He had
joined the Marines in 2002, shortly after graduating from Westwood High School, and was a nine-year member of
the Westwood Fire Department who came from a family of firefighters.
During the funeral service, the Marines presented Hrbek's family with the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. The
former was in recognition for his efforts in Afghanistan last month, when a fellow Marine lost his legs after being hit
by an improvised explosive device.
Hrbek left his covered position and ran to the man's aid, officials said, treating his wounds and moving him to a safe
place until he could be rescued - all while under enemy fire.
"He never knew doubt. He never knew the phrase, 'I can't,"' said his sister Lori Hrbek. "Chris lived his life the way
most people only wish they could."
(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Two soldiers salute the casket of U.S. Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek, during a burial ceremony Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010,
in Paramus, N.J. Hrbek, a field artillery cannoneer, who was killed Jan. 14, when he stepped on an explosive device in
Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
U.S. Marines present a medal to Jamie Hrbek Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010, in Westwood, N.J., as they stand near the American Flag
draped casket of her husband, Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek. Hrbek, a field artillery cannoneer, who was killed Jan. 14, when
he stepped on an explosive device in Afghanistan, was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star during his
funeral. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
The flag draped casket of Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbekis taken from a crowded Zion Lutheran Church Saturday, Jan.
23, 2010, in Westwood, N.J., after his funeral service. Hrbek, a field artillery cannoneer, who was killed Jan. 14, when he
stepped on an explosive device in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
U.S. Marines hold folded Amertican Flags as they stand together before the urial ceremony for Marine Sgt. Christopher
Hrbek Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010, in Westwood, N.J. Hrbek, a field artillery cannoneer, who was killed Jan. 14, when he
stepped on an explosive device in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Jamie Hrbek holds a folded American Flag as she stands next to the casket of her husband, Marine Sgt. Christopher
Hrbek, during a burial ceremony Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010, in Paramus, N.J. Hrbek, a field artillery cannoneer, who was
killed Jan. 14, when he stepped on an explosive device in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
A man holds a small child as he watches a group of U.S. Marines Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010, in Paramus, N.J., during a burial
ceremony for Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek. Hrbek, a field artillery cannoneer, who was killed Jan. 14, when he stepped
on an explosive device in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Firefighters carry the body of Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010, in Westwood, N.J. Hrbek, an
artilleryman, was killed Jan. 14 by an improvised explosive device during a combat operation in Helmand Province in
Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
People line the street and salute, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010, in Westwood, N.J., as a hearse carries the body of Marine Sgt.
Christopher Hrbek, 25, was killed Jan. 14 by an improvised explosive device during a combat operation in Helmand
Province. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Police officer Catherine Prior salutes the casket of Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010, in Westwood,
N.J. Hrbek, an artilleryman, was killed Jan. 14, by an improvised explosive device during a combat operation in Helmand
Province. Prior said she grew up with Hrbek in Westwood. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
People line the street Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010, in Westwood, N.J., as a hearse carries the body of Marine Sgt. Christopher
Hrbek, an artilleryman, was killed Jan. 14 by an improvised explosive device during a combat operation in Helmand
Province. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
People hold American Flags and watch, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010, in Westwood, N.J., as a hearse carries the body of Marine
Sgt. Christopher Hrbek, an artillerymn, who was killed Jan. 14, by explosive in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Marines and others stand Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010, in Westwood, N.J., near a hearse that carries the body of Marine Sgt.
Christopher Hrbek, who was killed Jan. 14, when he stepped on an explosive device in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Students stand outside Westwood High school Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010, in Washington Township, N.J. as they watch the
hearse carrying the body of Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek pass. Hrbek, a field artillery cannoneer, who was killed Jan.
14, when he stepped on an explosive device in Afghanistan, was a 2002 graduate of the school. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Students stand outside Westwood High school Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010, in Washington Township, N.J. as they wait for a
hearse carrying the body of Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek, a field artillery cannoneer, who was killed Jan. 14, when he
stepped on an explosive device in Afghanistan. Hrbek graduated from the school in 2002. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
A marching band leads Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010, as a hearse carries the body of Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek through in
Westwood, N.J. Hrbek, a field artillery cannoneer, was killed Jan. 14, when he stepped on an explosive device in
Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Cheryll Dearborn, center, cries as she stands Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010, in Westwood, N.J., with daughter Lydia AndersonDearborn, 10, and husband Mark Anderson as a hearse carries the body of Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek, a field
artillery cannoneer, who was killed Jan. 14, when he stepped on an explosive device in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Bob Struss puts American Flags on his fence Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010, outside his home in Westwood, N.J. as the small
northern New Jersey town prepares for the return of Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek. The 25-year-old died Jan. 14 during
a combat operation in Helmand Province. Family members say he was killed by an improvised explosive device. (AP
Photo/Mel Evans)
Hundreds in Westwood bid final farewell to fallen
Marine
Saturday, January 23, 2010
LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY JANUARY 24, 2010, 12:56 AM
BY JOSEPH AX AND ALFA GARCIA
THE RECORD
STAFF WRITER
WESTWOOD — Chris Hrbek simply did not know how to slow down.
DON SMITH/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Funeral service for Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek at Zion Evangelical Lutheran
Church.
His stepbrothers good-naturedly called him a “pain.” His sisters remembered a kid whose liveliness was
without limit. And his best friend told stories about how Hrbek would get himself in trouble with one
crazy idea after another.
In the Marine Corps, however, Hrbek found his true calling — and channeled that boundless energy
into singular determination.
On Saturday, hundreds gathered at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church to pay their respects to the
Westwood firefighter, Marine sergeant and native son nine days after he was killed by an improvised
explosive device while on patrol in Afghanistan.
“There will never be another Chris,” said his older sister, Amy Dellentash, at his funeral service. “You
are one of a kind, my brother, and you are my hero.”
Close to 400 mourners filled the church, and hundreds more stood outside and listened to the service
over a loudspeaker.
Police officers and firefighters from dozens of North Jersey towns and from New York City, where
Hrbek’s two stepbrothers work as firefighters, held flags outside the church.
Friends and family recalled the 25-year-old as a fun-loving, dynamic young man whose levity in life was
matched only by the seriousness with which he took his job.
“He never knew doubt,” said another sister, Lori Hrbek. “He never knew the phrase ‘I can’t.’ Chris lived
his life the way most people only wish they could.”
Bronze Star
Weeks before Hrbek’s death, a fellow Marine lost his legs in Afghanistan when he was hit by an
explosive device. Hrbek left his covered position and ran to the aid of the man, treating his wounds and
moving him to a safe place until he could be rescued — all while under enemy fire.
Hrbek was to have received the Bronze Star for his actions that day.
At the end of the funeral Saturday, the Marines presented his family with posthumous Bronze Star and
Purple Heart medals.
Over and over, those who knew him spoke of Hrbek’s military service as a calling. His former
commanding officer, Lt. Col. Timothy Parker, said he first got to know Hrbek because, unsurprisingly,
Hrbek had gotten himself in trouble.
“He said he would accept the punishment as long as I promised to take him to Iraq,” Parker said.
Hrbek served in Iraq as the lead gunner for the lead vehicle in his patrol and on more than one occasion
helped defuse tense situations with quick thinking and a “human touch,” Parker said.
On Saturday, residents lined the street for blocks to the town’s main square, where a massive American
flag hung from a gazebo. Some people outside the church — even those who didn’t know Hrbek — said
they had come to pay tribute to his heroism.
“This young man gave his life for our freedom,” said Little Egg Harbor resident Richard Deldonna.
“This is the least we could do to show our respect. I have children as well. The pain this family must be
enduring right now is unbelievable.”
But it was his unflagging vitality that friends and relatives will most remember, they said.
“Chris was loud, full of energy, always getting into trouble,” said his best friend, Billy Phayre. “It was
like he was the devil on my shoulder, and I was the angel on his.”
The two friends met as boys at the Westwood firehouse, where Hrbek’s stepfather, JayMee Hodges, and
Phayre’s father were both firefighters. They converted Phayre’s garage into their own fire headquarters
and spent hours responding to “calls.”
“We may have had the busiest firehouse in Bergen County,” Phayre said. “I can only imagine what the
neighbors thought when they saw us riding our bikes in full fire gear, making loud, obnoxious siren
noises.”
Family stories
One of Hrbek’s stepbrothers, Jim Hodges, said during the church service that he and his brother, Beau,
never tired of giving Chris a hard time. But Chris knew how to dish it out as well.
Once, Hodges said, he ran out of gas at 2 a.m. in River Edge. He managed to get the car to a gas station
on Kinderkamack Road, but the station was closed, so he called Chris and asked him to bring a gas can.
“True to form, Chris came down with the gas can that I asked for — without a drop of gas in it,” he said,
as the church filled with laughter.
“I said, ‘What were you thinking?’ And he said, ‘You told me you were at a gas station.’ Chris would do
whatever you wanted him to do — you just had to be very specific.”
Hrbek — who is survived by his wife, Jamie Lynn Wengerter — was buried at George Washington
Memorial Park in Paramus following the funeral.
As the procession made its way through the streets of Westwood, residents lined Washington Avenue,
clutching flags and putting hands over their hearts when Hrbek’s casket passed by.
Nick Benanti, a Westwood resident and childhood friend of Hrbek’s, said the entire town is grieving.
“We all feel like we lost a little piece of ourselves,” he said. “It’s something you don’t think about until it
happens.”
E-mail: ax@northjersey.com
The Record: Thank you, sergeant
Saturday, January 23, 2010
LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY JANUARY 23, 2010, 12:24 PM
HERALD NEWS
GIVEN THAT we live in the heart of one of the biggest media markets in the world, it is easy for us to
become distracted, to lose focus on things that matter. Too often, we are consumed by the trivial or the
profane, the newest scandal or latest talking point, the most outrageous sound bite from a politician,
celebrity or athlete. Too often, we wage long arguments about whether taxes are too high or how much
our cable rates might go up.
HRBEK
Too often, we are caught in life’s hurried paces, rushing to make it to the next exit on the parkway,
forgetting to hug our children.
Sometimes, though, we are forced to remember. Sometimes, we are reminded that lives are more than
sound bites. We are reminded that duty calls and sacrifices are made. We are reminded that soldiers die
in battle.
Today the tight-knit community of Westwood will say its final goodbyes to one of its noblest sons,
Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek, 25, who was killed in action Jan. 14 in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
Most of us never met Hrbek, but in recent days, from listening to the words of those who knew and
loved him, or perhaps only remember him from his outgoing smile and boundless energy, we feel we
have come to know something of his spirit and his character.
We know that he was a 2002 graduate of Westwood High School and a member of the school’s
wrestling team. We know that he was a nine-year member of the Westwood Fire Department. We know
that he came from a family long committed to military service and to service in general. And we know
that Hrbek was a proud and decorated Marine who served three combat tours in Iraq and who was
recently honored for heroism during combat in Afghanistan.
We know, too, that a million real tears are still to be shed in Westwood and beyond for this one who
died in a faraway land while serving his country, seemingly doing that which he was born to do.
Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as hundreds of thousands of other young Americans stepped forward
to wear the nation’s uniform and to deploy overseas to serve in wartime, scores of other communities
have borne the grief that Westwood feels right now. Many of these are small towns, places where flags
are hung and where patriotism is more than a word, places where the loss is felt the greatest.
Of course, words ultimately come up short in moments like these, even those words like glory, sacrifice
and honor. And yet when a young soldier falls in combat, we pause in our steps, and vainly attempt to
grasp their meaning.
Today, many more words will be spoken about Christopher Hrbek, words that will attempt to comfort,
words that will remind us that the world is still a dangerous place, and that battles continue to be
fought in the name of freedom. In the end, though, maybe just two words will suffice, for this young
Marine and for all the others who have answered the call of duty: Thank you.
Bergen County Freeholders request residents fly
flags at half staff
Friday, January 22, 2010
BY MICHAEL GARTLAND
THE RECORD
STAFF WRITER
The Bergen County Freeholders are requesting that every county resident fly the American flag at half
staff Saturday in honor of Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek of Westwood.
Hrbek was killed Jan. 14 by an improvised explosive device in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He was
25.
His death came less than a month after he saved the life of a fellow Marine who lost both of his legs in
an explosion.
The county freeholders passed a resolution Wednesday, calling on residents to honor Hrbek’s service.
Hrbek’s funeral is scheduled to take place at Zion Lutheran Church today at 9 a.m., followed by a burial
service at George Washington Cemetery in Paramus.
Fallen Hero Marine Honored in New Jersey Hometown
January 23, 2010
By David Bellavia
Sgt. Christopher R. Hrbek, 25, a field artillery cannoneer with 3rd Battalion, 10th Marines, out of Camp
Lejeune, was killed in Helmand province, according to the Defense Department. Please spend a full minute
looking at this young man’s photo. All that he was and all that he could have been. Just look at him.
This Marine sacrificed his life for all of us and I am so blessed to live in a nation that still makes patriots
such as Sgt Hrbek.
What a beautiful man and I pray that his family understands how very much he is appreciated. God bless
them all.
From WPIX Channel 11:
WESTWOOD, N.J. (WPIX) – Hundreds gathered in Northern New Jersey Saturday to mourn the death of a
local soldier, killed in Afghanistan this week.
Sgt. Christopher Hrbek, 25, of Westwood was killed in the line of duty last Thursday, when he stepped on an
improvised explosive device (IED) in Helmand Province.
Family and friends honored his ultimate sacrifice in a funeral mass Saturday morning at Zion Lutheran
Church in Westwood. Nearly 400 people packed inside the church, while hundreds more gathered outside
and listened to the service over loudspeakers.
During the service, the Marines presented Hrbek’s family with the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. He was
awarded the star for rescuing a fellow Marine who had lost his legs after being hit by an improvised
explosive device. Hrbek abandoned his position and ran to the man’s aid, officials said, treating his wounds
and moving him to a safe place until he could be rescued — all while under enemy fire.
Hrbek’s stepfather, Jaymee Hodges said Hrbek fell in love with the Corps in 10th grade, when he took the
Marine Corps Agility Test. On his 18th birthday, he enlisted in Hackensack and left for basic training in
South Carolina just a few months later.
I did not know this young man. However, I will mourn his loss and honor his life. May he be blessed by
God and his family and friends embraced in God's love and his fellow warriers shielded from harm.
Westwood firefighter, Marine killed in Afghanistan
Friday, January 15, 2010
BY DEENA YELLIN
The Record
WESTWOOD - Sgt. Christopher Hrbek, a 2002 graduate of Westwood High School and a nine-year member of the
Westwood Fire Department, was killed in action Thursday while serving with the Marine Corps in Afghanistan.
The 25-year-old was killed when he stepped on an IED in the Hamal province.
Sgt. Hrbek comes from a family of firefighters; his step-father, Jaymee Hodges, is senior captain in the Westwood
department and his two step brothers, Jim and Beau Hodges, are members of the New York City Fire Department.
Hodges said his son, who had joined the Marines in 2002, was supposed to return home in May. He had planned to
become a drill instructor in the Marines.
“I was proud of him like you can’t imagine,” he said in a choked voice Friday morning.
He was due to receive a bronze star with valor for saving the life of his sergeant major who stepped on an IED under
enemy fire on Dec. 23.
The man’s legs were immediately blown off and Hrbek acted quickly along with a Navy Corpsman who was with him
at the time.
Together, they applied tourniquets to stop the bleeding, removed him from enemy fire and got him to an airlift so that
he could receive medical attention.
The five star general recommended Hrbek and the medic for awards for saving the man’s life. “That was just so
humbling,” recalled Hodges.
“I told him, we are proud of you for doing the right thing. He didn’t think about it, he just did it. He loved being a
Marine.”
Mark Fedorchak, chief of the Westwood Volunteer Fire Department, recalled a young man so devoted to helping other
people he joined the fire department as a 16-year-old. “He joined as a cadet when he was a teenager and then worked
his way up the ranks to firefighter. He was on military leave but still an active firefighter up until now,” he said.
Joining the U.S. military was something he wanted to do, Fedorchak said. “He was passionate about it. He has two step
brothers who are NYC firefighters so he took 911 to heart. He decided to make the Marines his career goal.”
Like everyone in Westwood who knew the energetic 25-year-old, finding out about his death yesterday, he said, was a
shock.
“I’ve known Christopher since he was 8-years old. He was just an absolute wonderful person. He would give you the
shirt off his back.
That’s why he went into the Marines. That’s the type of person he was. This was what he wanted to do. He wanted to
make a difference in the world. He was an incredible young man.”
Funeral plans have not been made yet.
Hrbek is survived by his mother, Cheryl, stepfather, Jaymee, two stepbrothers, Jim, 31, and Beau, 29, of Westwood.
Amy, 33, of Westwood and Lori, 33, of Boonton and his father Richard Hrbek of Emerson.
Community mourns death of Sgt. Christopher
Hrbek
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY JANUARY 20, 2010, 12:46 PM
BY MEGAN BURROW
THE RECORD
OF COMMUNITY LIFE
Residents, family and friends mourned the death of Sgt. Christopher Hrbek this past week. Hrbek was
killed last Thursday, Jan. 14, when he stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) in the Helmand
Province of Afghanistan, where he was serving with the Marine Corps.
The 25-year-old Westwood resident was a 2002 graduate of Westwood Regional Jr./Sr. High School
and a nine-year member of the Westwood Fire Department.
Fast facts
On Thursday, Jan. 21 Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek’s body will be escorted by motorcade from Dover Air Force Base
to his hometown of Westwood.
Hrbek was killed last Thursday, Jan. 14 when he stepped on an improvised explosive device in the Helmand Province
of Afghanistan. In honor of one of Hrbek’s final wishes, those wishing to pay their respect to the fallen soldier have
been invited to line the streets along the procession route holding American flags.
The route is as follows:
* At 2:45 p.m. the motorcade will pass Westwood Jr./Sr. High School.
* At approximately 3 p.m. the procession will begin at the A field at Ketler Elementary School on Third Avenue.
* From Third Avenue the procession will continue onto Washington Avenue, turning left on Westwood Avenue before
turning right on Kinderkamack Road, ending at Becker Funeral Home at 219 Kinderkamack Road.
Hrbek comes from a family of firefighters, following his step-father and captain of the department
Jaymee Hodges, first joining as a cadet at age 16. His step-brothers Jim and Beau Hodges are members
of the New York City Fire Department.
Hodges said from the time he was a little boy, his step-son was interested in the military. After Hrbek
took the Marine Corps Agility Test in 10th grade, "he really fell in love with the corps," said Hodges.
"He read books, watched movies, anything about the corps he could find."
On his 18th birthday, shortly before graduating high school, Hrbek asked his step-father to take him to
the recruitment office in Hackensack to enlist. He left for basic training at Parris Island, S.C. the
following January.
"I said to him ‘follow your dreams, kid, you’re my hero.’ He went out the door and came back a marine
13 weeks later," said Hodges.
Westwood Fire Chief Marc Fedorchak said from the time he first met Hrbek when he was only 8 years
old, he had been nothing but a "great, great person."
"He would do anything for anybody," said Fedorchak. "He’s going to be sorely missed. It’s a huge loss
for the community." Hrbek had been on military leave, but remained an active member of the
department while in Afghanistan.
Councilman William Phayre, a member of the fire department, recalled a young man who always
wanted to help others. "This news has had a profound impact on our entire family," Phayre said Friday.
"He was one of the three original cadets in the department along with my son Bill. He was just a great
young man – if you were with him, you would be smiling."
As the news of Hrbek’s death spread, residents and community groups found ways to honor his life and
sacrifice, placing American flags outside their homes and sharing stories of the young man in living
rooms and on social networking Web sites.
The Borough of Westwood began its Jan. 19 council meeting with a moment of silence for Hrbek, and in
honor of one of Hrbek’s final wishes, members of the fire department and the Knights of Columbus
plan to line the streets Thursday, Jan. 21 holding American flags when Hrbek’s body returns home to
the borough. At approximately 2:45 p.m., the motorcade escorting Hrbek’s body from Dover Air Force
Base in Delaware will travel past Westwood High School, where students will pay their respect. The
procession will then begin at the A field at Ketler Elementary School on Third Avenue, turning onto
Washington Avenue, where it will travel past Veteran’s Park, before making its way to Becker Funeral
Home on Kinderkamack Road. Residents wishing to pay their respect to Hrbek have been invited to
line the streets with flags in their hands.
Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney instructed all county buildings to fly federal, state and
county flags half-staff in honor of the fallen Marine. "This is about doing what is right for one of
Bergen’s own," he stated in a press release Tuesday.
Hrbek was scheduled to return home in May and had planned to continue his career with the Marines
as a drill instructor.
During his nine years as a Marine, Hrbek opted to extend his service twice. Besides his last mission in
Afghanistan, he served three tours in Iraq, and one in Okinawa, Japan. Although he had an opportunity
to leave the military and join the New York City Fire Department last year, he chose to re-enlist instead.
"He thought about it and said to me ‘If I die a Marine I’ll die happy,’" said Hodges. "He just loved being
a soldier."
Mayor John Birkner said the borough will do everything it can to honor Hrbek’s memory "with dignity
and respect."
"He paid the supreme sacrifice and for that he deserves every honor that we can give to his memory,"
said Birkner. "Every night we watch the news and hear reports, but when the report comes home it just
truly takes your breath away and makes you reflect deeper on what these soldiers do every day to
defend American ideals. It’s remarkable, because they have volunteered to put themselves in harms
way."
Hrbek will be posthumously awarded a bronze star with valor for saving the life of his sergeant major
while on patrol in late December. Hrbek and a Navy corpsman rushed to the man’s aid after his legs
were blown off by an IED, carried him to safety, and applied tourniquets to stop the bleeding. On
Christmas Eve, Hrbek was met by two military generals who informed him he would be nominated for
the medal. "I know how proud he was. I’m just happy he knew that he was going to be a decorated
soldier," Hodges said. Marines presented Hodges and his wife with a Gold Star for their sacrifice on
Tuesday.
Hodges expressed his pride in the step-son he watched grow from a mischievous little boy into a
decorated war hero. "He went away to the Marine Corps when he was just a kid, but when he came back
he was a man we all admired."
A wake will be held at Zion Lutheran Church on Second Avenue from 2 to 8 p.m. on Jan. 22. A funeral
mass will be held at 9 a.m. the following day at the church, with internment to follow at George
Washington Memorial Park in Paramus. Hrbek is survived by his wife Jamie Wengerter, mother
Cheryl, step-father Jaymee, biological father Richard Hrbek, sisters Amy and Lori and step-brothers
Jim and Beau.
E-mail: burrow@northjersey.com
Added by Natalia Jimenez/The Star-Ledger on January 21, 2010 at 7:19 PM
The body of Sgt. Christopher Hrbek in the hearse returns to his hometown during a procession in
Westwood as the fire fighters hold the flags in respect. Sgt. Hrbek , a married Westwood native, was
killed Thursday when he stepped on an improvised explosive device while on patrol in the Helmand
Province in Afghanistan. (Mitsu Yasukawa/ The Star-Ledger)
Added by Natalia Jimenez/The Star-Ledger on January 21, 2010 at 7:19 PM
A woman weeps as the hearse carrying the body of Sgt. Christopher Hrbek passes by her during a
procession in Westwood, NJ. Sgt. Hrbek , a married Westwood native, was killed Thursday when he
stepped on an improvised explosive device while on patrol in the Helmand Province in Afghanistan.
(Mitsu Yasukawa/ The Star-Ledger)
Added by Natalia Jimenez/The Star-Ledger on January 21, 2010 at 7:19 PM
Aaron Hilliard, firefighter with the Hackensack Fire Department, holds the flag prior to the procession to
honor Sgt. Christopher Hrbek. Hrbek was a married Westwood native, who was killed Thursday when
he stepped on an improvised explosive device while on patrol in the Helmand Province in Afghanistan.
(Mitsu Yasukawa/ The Star-Ledger)
http://www.youtube.com/user/tvjersey#p/u/0/dGMEFQG3RGo
http://www.brettsfirephotos.com/Memorial/January-142010/10953518_g2yfS#771929225_W4vYY-A-LB
Lance Cpl. Jeremy M. Kane
Hometown: Cherry Hill NJ (Listed as: Towson, Maryland, U.S.)
Age: 22 years old
Died: January 23, 2010 in Operation Enduring Freedom.
Unit: Marines, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces
Reserve, based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Incident: Died while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
Mourners recall fallen Marine by Julia Hays on February 1st, 2010
Douglas M. Bovitt/Courier-Post Staff

By WILFORD S. SHAMLIN
Courier-Post Staff
Melinda Kane relied on humor to remember her son.
Jeremy Kane, she recalled during her oldest son's funeral service Friday, was fond of running around
the house naked as a boy. And when he was older, he would still wear the bare essentials: boxer
shorts or the "occasional Speedo" -- even in the presence of company.
"He didn't care," she said to laughter.
Click here to view the "Funeral for Marine Jeremy Kane" photo gallery and read the rest of this
article after the jump...
The mother also remembered her son as being strong-willed.
In 2006, Jeremy Kane told his parents he wanted to serve his country in the war prompted by the 9/11
terror attacks. He had already enlisted in a Marines reserve unit when he made that announcement.
Lance Cpl. Kane, 22, died Jan. 23 in a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan's Helmand Province. The
Cherry Hill man, who was a criminal-justice student at Rutgers-Camden, had arrived in the war-torn
country three months earlier.
More than 5,300 military personnel have died in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, according to the
Defense Department. About 90 were from New Jersey and at least 31 had direct ties to South Jersey.
During the service at Congregation M'Kor Shalom, Melinda Kane remembered her son as a
preschooler picking pumpkins at Johnson's Farm in Medford. His classmates searched for a perfect
orange gourd but Kane wanted something different.
"He wanted a green pumpkin and that's what he came home with," she said, again to laughter.
Kane took pride in driving his mother's purple minivan to Cherry Hill High School East after getting
his driver's license.
"He thought it was the best thing because he could fit so many of his friends inside," she said.
"He loved. He laughed. He lived life to the fullest," she added.
Kane's loved ones also recalled his intelligence, wit, disarming smile, strong sense of loyalty to his
country and his love for his family. Both sobs and laughter could be heard throughout the hour-long
service.
Kane's best friend, Michael Borunefriend, said he can't think of Jeremy without smiling.
"Not too many people can say that they did what they wanted before they died," Borunefriend said.
"I'm going to miss my best friend. I love you, Jeremy."
Rabbi Barry Schwartz encouraged the more than 200 mourners to remember Kane for the way he
lived his life and for his idealism and devotion.
"Go now, Jeremy," he said. "Go in peace . . . We won't forget you. We will sing your song."
A hearse carried the Marine's flag-draped casket past Cherry Hill East, where Kane was a 2006
graduate.
More than 2,000 students waited outside in the cold to pay their respects. Some wept, while others
clutched small American flags or held a hand over their heart.
"This is a show of sympathy and support for one of our former students and the family," Principal
John O'Breza said outside the Kresson Road school. "This is a very sad time for all of us."
At Locustwood Cemetery in Cherry Hill, a bugle player delivered a moving rendition of "Taps" as
Kane's brothers Daniel, 19, and Benjamin, 16, consoled their mother. Jeremy Kane was buried next to
his late father, Bruce.
As part of the service, seven Marines, in crisp unison, fired three rifle rounds into the air. The flag
draping his casket was then folded into a triangle and presented to his mother.
Reach Wilford S. Shamlin at (856) 486-2475 or wshamlin@courierpostonline.com.
via Mourners recall fallen Marine | courierpostonline.com | Courier-Post.
Marine From Jersey Felled in Afghanistan
February 04, 2010
Aaron Passman and Bryan Schwartzman
Jewish Exponent Staff
Jeremy Kane had always wanted to serve his country, according to those who knew him best.
For starters, said his mother, Melinda Kane, he was born on a Louisiana army base, and as a child, vividly
recalled his father leaving the house in uniform. His grandfather had served in the Marines. Then, there was
the fact that Kane became a Bar Mitzvah in 2001, the same year that the United States suffered the
deadliest terrorist attack in its history.
Four years ago, the resident of Cherry Hill, N.J., signed up for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. He was
studying criminal justice at Rutgers University-Camden when he was deployed.
On Jan. 23, a suicide bomber attacked his battalion in the Helmand province in Afghanistan. Lance Cpl.
Kane, 22, was killed, and several others were wounded.
"He chose a challenging path," said Rabbi Barry L. Schwartz of Congregation M'kor Shalom in Cherry Hill, a
Reform synagogue where Kane became a Bar Mitzvah and was confirmed. "He chose to be an enlisted
Marine, rather than an ROTC officer. He chose not to defer his deployment when he had the possibility of
doing so."
Kane's father Bruce, a physician and retired major in the U.S. Army, passed away in 2008 af- ter a battle
with cancer. The eldest of three brothers, Kane had wanted to be there for his fam-ily. But in the end, he
chose to go to Afghanistan with his unit, which was deployed in October.
A funeral service was held on Jan. 29 at M'kor Shalom.
Kane was later buried at Locustwood Cemetery, also in Cherry Hill.
Schwartz, who officiated, described his former student as "a full human being in every aspect -- and in the
best sense of the word."
Visiting Israel with his confirmation class was a defining experience in Kane's life, according to the rabbi,
recalling that the teenager returned back home "with a greater sense of self-confidence."
Melinda Kane called the trip "a life-altering event."
She added that the combination of seeing the Jewish state's history alongside "the military involvement
there, and how the military in Israel is praised and respected," were key moments for her son.
Schwartz said that the Israel-trip fund for M'Kor Shalom's confirmation classes has been renamed in Kane's
honor.
On the day of the funeral last Friday, students from Cherry Hill High School East lined the streets along the
route to the cemetery, as did members of the American Legion and the Jewish War Veterans of the United
States of America.
Michael Bornfreund, one of Kane's closest friends, described him as fun-loving and quick to make a joke.
The two had hosted a radio show together when they were in college.
While Bornfreund said that Kane had mentioned a desire to serve his country, he said that his friend rarely
displayed his more pensive side in public.
"He was able to turn anything into a positive," affirmed Bornfreund. "He was so unselfish, regardless of what
was going on."
In terms of his feelings -- or possible fears -- about going to Afghanistan, added Bornfreund, Kane "really
didn't share much with us." Jeremy Kane had always wanted to serve his country, according to those who
knew him best.
N.J. Marine killed in Afghanistan is mourned in Cherry Hill funeral
Published: Friday, January 29, 2010, 6:03 PM
The Associated Press
Updated: Friday, January 29, 2010, 8:29 PM
John O'Boyle/The Star-LedgerAn honor
guard carries the casket of U.S. Marine, Lance Cpl. Jeremy Kane after a funeral service at M'kor Shalom
Synagogue in Cherry Hill. Kane was killed in a suicide bomber attack in Afghanistan.
CHERRY HILL — A Marine killed in Afghanistan has been laid to rest in a cemetery in his
southern New Jersey hometown.
file photoLance Cpl. Jeremy Kane in an undated photo.
Students from his alma mater, Cherry Hill East High School, lined the road, hands on hearts,
as a hearse bearing the flag-draped casket of Lance Cpl. Jeremy Kane passed by on its way to
Locustwood Cemetery.
Kane was buried there Friday following a funeral service at Congregation M'Kor Shalom.
Kane enlisted as a reservist on Sept. 11, 2006, during his first year at Rutgers University. His
mother Melinda said her son felt it was his duty to serve his country.
The 22-year-old died in a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan's Helmand Province Jan. 23.
He was planning to return to Rutgers to finish his senior year following his deployment.
John O'Boyle / The Star-Ledger An honor guard composed of various veteran's groups hold flags
during a funeral for U.S. Marine, Lance Cpl. Jeremy Kane at M'kor Shalom Synagogue in Cherry Hill.
Kane was killed in a suicide bomber attack in Afghanistan. 1/29/10 John O'Boyle/The Star-Ledger
An honor guard composed of various veteran's groups hold flags during a funeral for U.S. Marine, Lance
Cpl. Jeremy Kane at M'kor Shalom Synagogue in Cherry Hill. Kane was killed in a suicide bomber attack
in Afghanistan. 1/29/10 John O'Boyle/The Star-Ledger
An honor guard carries the casket of U.S. Marine, Lance Cpl. Jeremy Kane after a funeral service at
M'kor Shalom Synagogue in Cherry Hill. Kane was killed in a suicide bomber attack in Afghanistan.
1/29/10 John O'Boyle/The Star-Ledger
Police motorcycles escort the hearse after the funeral for U.S. Marine, Lance Cpl. Jeremy Kane at M'kor
Shalom Synagogue in Cherry Hill. Kane was killed in a suicide bomber attack in Afghanistan. 1/29/10
John O'Boyle/The Star-Ledger
U.S. Marine from Cherry Hill is killed in Afghanistan
Published: Sunday, January 24, 2010, 11:37 PM
Kelly Heyboer/ The Star-Ledger
Updated: Monday, January 25, 2010, 11:18 AM
CHERRY HILL -- When Lance Cpl. Jeremy Kane got word last year that his Marine reserve unit
was being called to serve in Afghanistan, his family said he was conflicted.
The Cherry Hill resident had a lot of reasons to want to stay home. In addition to being on the
verge of finishing his degree at Rutgers University, Kane had recently lost his father to cancer.
As the oldest son in the family, he wanted to be home to support his mother and brothers as
they grieved.
But in the end, Kane went to Afghanistan with his unit proudly.
"He felt terrible that it would cause further stress and strain on the family. But this was his
commitment and he had to stick to it," said Melinda Kane, his mother. "He felt that every
American had the duty to give back to his country."
Kane, 22, died Saturday when a suicide bomber attacked members of the Marines’ 4th Light
Armored Reconnaissance Battalion in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan, his family said
this evening.
The young Marine, who worked as a scout, was on patrol with his unit. Several other Marines
were also injured by the bomber, his family was told.
Kane is at least the 15th service member with ties to New Jersey to die in Afghanistan since
the war began in 2001. Nearly 100 others have died in Iraq since 2003.
Kane was majoring in criminal justice and political science at Rutgers-Camden. He was a 2006
graduate of Cherry Hill High School-East.
His family said he was deeply affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks and joined the Marine
reserves on Sept. 11, 2006, shortly after enrolling at Towson University in Maryland. Kane
eventually transferred to Rutgers-Camden, where he could live at home in Cherry Hill and be
closer to his family.
He left for Afghanistan in October, his family said. It was his first deployment.
Bryan Adams, an Army veteran and fellow Rutgers student, informed friends and classmates
of Kane’s death via Facebook tonight. Adams, president of the campus’ Veterans for Education
group, posted a photo on the social networking site of a smiling Kane at a fundraiser in
the Rutgers-Camden student center, where he helped raise money for military and veterans’
scholarships.
"Jeremy was an outstanding role model and representative for military and veteran students
at Rutgers-Camden," Adams wrote. "Jeremy had a great sense of humor, a vibrant
personality and he truly cared about his fellow brothers and sisters in arms."
Kane was born on an Army base in Fort Polk in Louisiana, where his father was stationed at
the time, his family said. Growing up, he was close to his father, who served as a physician
with the military and was working as a pathologist at Cooper University Hospital in Camden
before his death.
Like his father, Kane was dedicated to physical fitness, his family said. He fenced in high
school, spent hours in the gym and would frequently load up a backpack with weight and go
on long runs at night to build his endurance.
Friends said Kane was a serious student and dedicated to Julia Smoot, his girlfriend of more
than a year and a half. While he was a student, he worked part-time as a security guard at
the Tweeter Center, the concert venue on the Camden waterfront.
In his free time, he played airsoft, a combat game similar to paintball. Tonight, New Jersey's
airsoft community was also sharing memories of Kane in online forums as word
spread of his death.
Kane’s own Facebook page featured a photo of a globe with a "Jeremy" sticker on
Afghanistan.
Below it, Kane wrote he had no internet access in Afghanistan, but his brother would forward
him any messages friends left through his Facebook site.
Melinda Kane, his mother, said despite his father's death and the seriousness of his mission in
Afghanistan, Kane was relentlessly positive about his future.
"He always had a smile on his face and a goofy grin," his mother said. "He was just a happy,
happy kid."
Staff writer Tomas Dinges contributed to this report.
New Jersey Marine, Jeremy Kane, killed by suicide bomber in
Afghanistan MONDAY, 25 JANUARY 2010 13:02
BY ALICIA CRUZ
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
The 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion based out of Camp Pendleton, California,lost
another of its warriors Saturday after a suicide bomber attacked the unit while they were patrolling
in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan.
Lance Cpl. Jeremy Kane, 22, a native of Cherry Hill and a 2006 graduate of Cherry Hill High
School-East, was on his first tour of Afghanistan.
His mother, Melinda Kane, said she was not aware of all the details surrounding her son's death,
but said she was told that it was a suicide attack and others were killed and injured in the same
attack.
Bryan Adams, a friend of Kane's from his days at Rutgers University, shared word of his friend's
death via social networking site Facebook.
His notation read: "I am writing this message with a heavy heart; I regret to inform you that
yesterday Jeremy Kane was killed in Afghanistan. Jeremy was an outstanding role model and
representative for military and veteran students at Rutgers-Camden...."
Adams fondly remembered Kane as a person with a "vibrant personality" who truly cared about his
fellow brothers and sisters in arms.
Adams went on to say that, "Jeremy was a stellar student and an active member of Veterans for
Education. [We] are going to sincerely miss him and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family
and friends and may he rest in peace."
Another friend of Kane's, Bill Bell wrote, "Just saw Jeremy on the Fox news. He looked like a hero
in his marine uniform. I'm so proud to have been able to say I was friends with such an amazing
man."
And amazing he was. In addition to fulfilling his call to duty, Kane, who had recently lost his
beloved father to cancer, was on the verge of completing a degree at Rutgers University where he
majored in criminal justice and political science.
He was a physical fitness buff and an active member of Veterans for Education who worked parttime as a security guard at the Tweeter Center in Camden.
LCpl. Kane's mother said despite his father's death 18 months ago of stomach cancer and being
so close to finishing college, her son was understandably conflicted when he learned that his
reserve unit was being activated and sent to Afghanistan, but he understood his responsibility to
the Marine Corps and deployed proudly in October.
Kane's father was a military man himself who worked as a pathologist at Cooper University
Hospital in Camden at the tie of his death. In addition to his mother and siblings, Kane leaves his
girlfriend, Julia Smoot, to mourn his death.
The Kane family will hold a private service for the young Marine at Dover Air Force Base today,
followed by a religious funeral on Thursday at M'Kor Shalom, Cherry Hill. That will be followed by a
full military funeral at Locustwood Cemetery, Cherry Hill.
For information on the religious service contact M'kor Shalom 850 Evesham Road, 856-424-4220
or email condolences to: MainOffice@mkorshalom.org
Marine with Towson ties dies in Afghanistan
Kane, 22, attended Towson University Posted 1/27/10
U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Jeremy M. Kane, 22, who attended Towson University and joined the
Marines in 2006, died last Saturday while supporting combat operations in Helmand province,
Afghanistan, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
Kane, 22, was assigned to 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division,
Marine Forces Reserve, based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Officials at Towson University confirmed on Wednesday that Kane had attended in the past,
but he was most recently a College of Arts and Sciences student at Rutgers UniversityCamden, majoring in criminal justice, according to a statement released Tuesday from
Rutgers-Camden Dean Margaret Marsh.
The school reported that Kane died from injuries sustained while on patrol when his unit fell
victim to a suicide bomb attack.
“This is an extraordinarily difficult time for Jeremy’s family and friends,” wrote Marsh. “We
share their sadness and extend our sincerest condolences. I encourage you to keep them in
your thoughts.
“Our nation is the poorer for the loss of such a courageous and dedicated citizen and member
of our armed forces.”
Veterans For Education, a club at Rutgers-Camden that states as its mission promoting a
positive image of veterans and promoting the value of education, lists Kane as a member, and
displays a photo of him among members “serving our country.”
On Wednesday, Bryan Adams, president of Rutgers' Veterans For Education organization, sent
an e-mail statement to the Towson Times, saying, "Jeremy had a great sense of humor, a
vibrant personality and he truly cared about his ... fellow brothers and sisters in arms."
The Star-Ledger newspaper in New Jersey reported Monday that Kane was born on an Army
base in Fort Polk, La., and that his family now lives in Cherry Hill, N.J.
That paper’s report can be found HERE.
The paper reported that Kane’s family said he had been deeply affected by the 9/11 attacks in
2001, and joined the Marine reserves on Sept. 11, 2006, shortly after enrolling at Towson
University. He later transferred to Rutgers-Camden, the paper reported.
-- Staff Reports
Mother of fallen Cherry Hill Marine tries to make sense of her son's
sacrifice Posted on Tue, Aug. 17, 2010
By Mike Newall Inquirer Staff Writer
There are some times when the pain is bearable. And there are others when she can't control her tears,
like the day this summer when yet another package she had sent her son reappeared in the mail,
unopened and dented, filled with crumbled cookies.
Melinda Kane, 52, of Cherry Hill, is the mother of a fallen Marine.
Her son Lance Cpl. Jeremy Kane, 22, died Jan. 23 in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan. He was a
reservist in the Fourth Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion.
The Rutgers University-Camden criminal-justice major, a gunner on his first tour of duty, had long
dreamed of being a Marine - unusual for someone in a community where young people rarely pursue
military careers.
Cherry Hill has lost one other service member in Iraq and Afghanistan, Army Capt. Gregory Dalessio,
30, killed in Baghdad in 2008.
Until Kane, Cherry Hill High School East - which opened in 1966 - had never lost a graduate to war,
principal John O'Breza said.
Even rarer are recruits from Congregation M'kor Shalom, the affluent Reform synagogue the Kanes
attend in the township, said Barry Schwartz, a former rabbi there.
"It only highlights his idealism and sense of duty," Schwartz said.
Like many women whose children have died on the battlefield, Melinda Kane's grief has been public. At
township events she has accepted flags and been hugged by neighbors.
East's 2,100 students lined the street on a freezing afternoon as her son's funeral procession passed
by, and in April, in an emotional ceremony, Rutgers awarded Jeremy Kane a posthumous degree.
"The support the community has shown my family has been amazing," said Kane, who teaches special
education at Triton Regional High School in Runnemede. She was sitting in her living room with her
sons Daniel, 20, and Benjamin, 17.
Kane's husband, Bruce, a 53-year-old Cooper University Hospital pathologist, died of cancer in 2008.
Jeremy Kane's unit, based in Frederick, Md., returned to the States in May. Steady in her grief, Melinda
Kane recently met with a Marine who served with her son and asked him to fill in the details of her
son's time in combat and his death. She was ready, she said.
In the midst of the deadliest months yet for U.S. troops in Afghanistan - 126 killed in June and July she hoped the young Marine could help her make sense of her son's sacrifice. Help her "fill the void,"
she said, if just for a while.
SHARON GEKOSKI-KIMMEL / Staff Photographer
Melinda Kane of Cherry Hill holds a photo of her son Lance Cpl. Jeremy Kane, 22. She said she and her husband
tried to dissuade their son from enlisting, but "we realized this was the life he wanted."
'The life he wanted'
After her son's death, Melinda Kane found an old letter from the Marines telling Jeremy - then 16 - that
his enlistment would have to wait.
His parents knew of his desire. "It was our secret," Melinda Kane says now.
"In Cherry Hill, the typical conversation was, 'How did your son do on his SATs?' and 'Where is he
applying to college?' " she said. "Not 'My son wants to be a Marine.' "
Until he was 2, Jeremy Kane lived at the Fort Polk Army Base in Louisiana. His father had enlisted to
help pay for medical school. He never pushed his son toward service.
But by high school, he was watching anything on the History Channel about warfare. He read books on
Jews in the military and played Airsoft military-tactics games. One Halloween, he dressed in his father's
baggy uniform.
When he was 13, the 9/11 attacks affected him deeply.
The formerly skinny kid developed a muscular body from hours of bench presses in the basement and
running while wearing a pack loaded with 80 pounds of weights.
By his senior year, Jeremy Kane was meeting with a Marine recruiter in the school library. He kept their
conversations from his parents. He had good grades and they wanted him to attend college.
One morning, the Marine called Kane's home, thinking he had dialed the young man's cell. Melinda
Kane picked up.
In her son's room she discovered directions to the recruiting station. She drove to school to search for
his car.
"Like he would just go and join and that would be that," she said.
The Kanes took their son to a therapist. "We were just fearful for him," Melinda Kane said.
Jeremy Kane was patient. He wanted to be a Marine for the challenge, he told them. To give back to his
country. To help pay for his education, something his parents didn't need or ask for.
"We realized this was the life he wanted," she said.
Jeremy Kane enlisted on Sept. 11, 2006, and shipped out for Afghanistan in October 2009, after three
years of college.
On the day he left, Melinda Kane recalled, he made funny faces as he weaved through airport security.
"He wanted to keep our spirits up," she said. "But as he proceeded on, I could see that he was crying."
Cathartic visit
Cpl. Jim Schelberg sat in his truck outside Melinda Kane's home with a bouquet of flowers in his lap.
The 25-year-old philosophy major at Washington College in Chestertown, Md., had done a tour in Iraq
before serving as an armored-vehicle commander in Jeremy Kane's unit. The two college men had
grown tight.
Schelberg had revealed nothing to his own loved ones about the day Jeremy Kane died. But visiting his
friend's mother was something "I needed to do," he later said.
He had worried about his friend's mother and hoped that talking might let him "reconnect" with his
friend, whose death left a void in his life, too.
"I just miss Kane," Schelberg said.
"When someone is taken from you so unexpectedly, there is an empty feeling," he said, "something
that needs to be filled up."
Schelberg and Melinda Kane sat in the den.
"We laughed a lot less when he was gone," Schelberg began.
Jeremy Kane had an "understated tenacity," and a sense of humor that boosted morale, he said. He did
silly dances in the barracks. And there was the rubber chicken he carried in his gear - Melinda Kane had
bought it for $10 and shipped it to him.
"It made silly noises," she said.
Once, the platoon was looking for improvised explosive devices on a bridge where children played
nearby, Schelberg remembered. Kane pulled out the chicken and they ran to him.
Melinda Kane asked about her son's last day.
The first three months had been quiet for the Third Platoon, Schelberg said. The men were eager to put
their training to use.
Several days before Kane died, the platoon was helicoptered, under fire, into Helmand province, the
Taliban heartland. It was the first time Jeremy Kane had fired his weapon in battle.
The Marines took control of a bazaar - a smattering of mud and concrete structures - and uncovered
enemy bomb-making materials. They felt like they finally were doing their jobs, Schelberg said.
The market was trash-strewn and grimy. The barren landscape was tan and gray. Schelberg asked
Melinda Kane whether he should draw a diagram. She handed him paper.
On that final morning, Jeremy Kane was guarding the path to market buildings where eight Marines
were stationed, he said.
It was unusual to see women or girls in the streets, Schelberg said, but a local man had brought his
young daughter on the busy market day, a smiling little girl in a bright orange dress who danced from
store to store.
That "innocent little creature" was the first thing of beauty the men had seen in months, he said.
Schelberg was about 50 yards away when a man carrying concealed explosives approached Kane.
Schelberg said he couldn't see exactly what Kane did, but he did not let the man pass. He did not let
him reach the Marines behind him. The powerful explosives detonated within feet of Jeremy Kane.
"The platoon owes your son a debt of gratitude," Schelberg said.
Another Marine and a Navy corpsman also died in the explosion. Shrapnel killed the girl in the orange
dress. But without Jeremy Kane, Schelberg said, "things would have been worse."
The platoon evacuated the casualties and cleaned the site - the bloody rocks, the scraps of uniform not wanting to give the enemy any satisfaction.
Melinda Kane and Schelberg cried together. He apologized for not getting her son home safely. And she
thanked him for his bravery - in battle and for reliving that terrible day.
Schelberg said he was relieved to get it all out. He is still weighing whether to reenlist for another
three-year stint.
Then the Kanes and their guest drove to Locustwood Cemetery in Cherry Hill to visit their son.
As she hugged Schelberg goodbye, Melinda Kane felt closer to her fallen son than she had in months.
It was almost as though Jeremy were in her arms.
Contact staff writer Mike Newall at 856-779-3237 or mnewall@phillynews.com.
JEREMY KANE
KANE, USMC
L.Cpl. JEREMY, in Afghanistan on January 23. 2010, of Cherry Hill. Beloved son of Melinda (nee Hopkins) and the late
Dr. Bruce Kane, adored brother of Daniel and Benjamin Kane, loving grandson of Hubert (Robin) Hopkins; also
survived by aunts, uncles, cousins and girlfriend, Julia Smoot. Jeremy was a graduate of Cherry Hill H.S. East, class of
2006 and completed his third year in Criminal Justice at Rutgers Univ. The family will be receiving relatives and
friends Friday from 9 A.M. to 10:45 A.M. at Cong. M'Kor Shalom, 850 Evesham Rd., Cherry Hill, NJ. Funeral services
will begin promptly at 11 A.M. Int. Locustwood Mem. Park. The family will return to the late residence. In lieu of
flowers, contributions may be made to Cong. M'Kor Shalom, "Jeremy Kane Confirmation Class Israel Trip Fund", 850
Evesham Rd., Cherry Hill, NJ 08003. PLATT MEMORIAL CHAPELS INC., Cherry Hill, NJ
Published in Philadelphia Inquirer & Philadelphia Daily News on January 28, 2010
Sgt. Marcos Gorra
Hometown: North Bergen, New Jersey, U.S.
Age: 22 years old
Died: February 21, 2010 in Operation Enduring Freedom.
Unit: Army, 2nd Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
Incident: Died at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained while supporting combat
operations.
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 150-10
February 25, 2010
DOD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring
Freedom.
Sgt. Marcos Gorra, 22, of North Bergen, N.J., died Feb. 21 at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, of wounds
sustained while supporting combat operations. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade,
82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
For more information the media may contact the 82nd Airborne Division public affairs office at 910- 432-0661,
or 910-432-0662.
New Jersey soldier Sgt. Marcos Gorra killed in Afghanistan
BY Oren Yaniv
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Originally Published:Thursday, February 25th 2010, 7:02 PM
Updated: Thursday, February 25th 2010, 7:02 PM
He came here as a boy from Communist Cuba and died serving his adopted country.
Sgt. Marcos Gorra, 22, an Army paratrooper from North Bergen, N.J., died Sunday of wounds sustained
"while supporting combat operations," the military said.
Gorra was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade. He was based at Kandahar
Airfield, the Army said Thursday.
The young soldier, who immigrated from Cuba at age 7, was to return home next month, officials said.
"Sgt. Gorra's military service is a tribute to his commitment, selflessness, and professionalism," said Lt. Col.
Mike Morgan, the commander of Gorra's unit. "He was a member of the pathfinder team that achieved
significant mission success in southern Afghanistan,"
"Sgt. Gorra was respected by his fellow paratroopers for his mission focus, attention to detail, and warm
personality," Morgan added.
"The troopers of Task Force Saber grieve for his loss and for the loss of his family."
Gorra enlisted in 2006 after graduating from North Bergen High School.
"I'm the oldest of 3 children," wrote Gorra on his MySpace page. "My family is by far the most important
thing in my life, my reason for living." Gorra is survived by his parents, Gricel and Marcos Gorra of North
Bergen; a sister; and a brother.
Afghanistan »
Army Sgt. Marcos Gorra, February 21, 2010
By The Star-Ledger Continuous News Desk
February 25, 2010, 6:46PM
82nd Airborne DivisionSgt. Marcos Gorra, 22, of North BergenAge: 22
Hometown: North Bergen
Circumstances: Died at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. The exact circumstances of Gorra's
death were not immediately made available.
North Bergen soldier dies in Afghanistan
By Rohan Mascarenhas/The Star-Ledger
February 25, 2010, 7:45PM
82nd Airborne DivisionSgt. Marcos Gorra, 22, of North Bergen, died in Afghanistan Sunday,
authorities said. NORTH BERGEN -- An Army paratrooper from North Bergen scheduled to
return home from Afghanistan in a month died Sunday during a training exercise at Kandahar
Airbase, relatives said.
Sgt. Marcos A. Gorra, 22, was serving his first deployment to Afghanistan, said his younger
sister, Griselly Gorra, 21.
Her older brother was known for cracking jokes and his dedication to his family.
"I’m the oldest of 3 children," wrote Gorra on his MySpace page. "My family is by far the most
important thing in my life, my reason for living."
Tattooed across his chest was, "Follow Your Bliss," said his sister.
"It always seemed that that is how he wanted to live life," she said.
Born in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba in 1988, he arrived in the United States when he was seven
years old with his father, mother and sister. He also had an 11-year-old brother.
Tattoos on his arm of an American flag and an eagle that he got before joining the Army
showed his patriotism to his new home. He had dual citizenship, she said, and on the same
arm had a tattoo of a Cuban flag.
Gorra attended North Bergen High School, playing football and baseball during his freshman
and sophomore years, his sister said. He became focused on joining the Army since his junior
year of high school, his sister said, and did so in August 2006.
Gorra served in Korea, and then in Fort Bragg, in North Carolina, where he earned his
paratrooper’s certification, or "wings."
He was attached of the 82nd Airborne Division in February 2008, and then the 82nd Combat
Aviation Brigade, according to the Army.
"Sgt. Gorra’s military service is a tribute to his commitment, selflessness, and
professionalism. He was a member of the pathfinder team that achieved significant mission
success in southern Afghanistan," said Lt. Col. Mike Morgan, the commander of Gorra’s unit.
"Sgt. Gorra was respected by his fellow paratroopers for his mission focus, attention to detail,
and warm personality. The troopers of Task Force Saber grieve for his loss and for the loss of
his family."
Deployment to faraway places often took their toll with Gorra’s family.
"He was in Korea for a year without leave, and that was very hard to deal with," said his
sister.
To fill the void, Gorra would regularly speak with relatives by phone, his sister said.
At Kandahar Air Base, he was able to talk by Skype or on the internet.
Friends in Afghanistan said Gorra always talked about his family, his sister said.
"He would call on the phone and talk to each and every one of us," she said.
After finishing his deployment to Afghanistan, Gorra was scheduled to leave the Army in
approximately eight months, according to a countdown on his MySpace page.
According to his sister, he had plans to become a New Jersey State Trooper when he got out
of the military.
A memorial in his honor will be held in Afghanistan, according to an Army spokesman.
Gorra’s death has been especially difficult for his family, relatives said.
"It’s hard when you are so close," said his sister.
North Bergen man, 22, dies while fighting in
Afghanistan
Thursday, February 25, 2010
LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY FEBRUARY 26, 2010, 10:12 AM
BY MATTHEW VAN DUSEN
THE RECORD
STAFF WRITER
NORTH BERGEN – An Army paratrooper who was weeks away from returning home died Sunday in
Afghanistan in a training exercise at Kandahar Air Base, family members said.
Sgt. Marcos Gorra, 22, of North Bergen was on his first tour in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne
Division.
Gorra was close to his parents and two siblings and wrote on his MySpace page that they were “by far,
the most important thing in my life, my reason for living.”
Friends remembered him as a gregarious soul who would make friends with anyone.
He barely knew any English when he moved to the township with his family from Santiago de Cuba,
Cuba, when he was in elementary school. But it didn’t stop him from talking with everyone around him,
said Vanessa Gomez, a grammar school classmate.
“He didn’t know anything about cliques or little groups, he just talked to everybody,” said Gomez, 22.
He was popular at North Bergen High School, where he played football and baseball in his freshman
and sophomore years before turning his focus to the Army in his junior and senior years, his family
said.
He was determined to serve his adopted county from an early age, despite his friends’ misgivings.
Shareen Shibli, a high school friend, said he would even jokingly try to recruit his friends.
Gorra joined the Army in August 2006 after graduation and was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 82nd
Combat Aviation Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division. He served in Korea for a time. He was
deployed to Afghanistan last April and would have been returning home in the next few weeks, Army
officials and friends said.
While serving his country far from home, he kept up his friendships with people at home, cajoling them
to stay up all night talking to him on the webcam, Gomez said.
Being so far away from his family wore on him, and Gorra started to look forward to December 2010,
when his service was up.
“He was in Korea for a year without leave, and that was very hard to deal with,” said his younger sister
Griselly Gorra.
When he was at Kandahar Air Base he would talk by Skype to his family, his sister said. “He would call
on the phone and talk to each and every one of us,” she said.
Gorra was praised Thursday by Army officials for his “selflessness and professionalism.”
Gorra was part of a pathfinder team — a group that would be the first into an unsecured area and
prepare it for forces that followed — that had a great deal of success in Afghanistan. “Sergeant Gorra
was a great soldier … who would get the job done right the first time, every time,” said 1st Sgt. Bruce
Julius.
According to the Department of Defense Gorra died Sunday of wounds sustained while supporting
combat operations. A memorial will be held in his honor in Afghanistan, Army officials sad.
ee0a888ed6a949
0
0
22, of North Bergen, N.J.
He died Feb. 21 at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained while supporting combat operations.
"I'm the oldest of 3 children," wrote Gorra on his MySpace page. "My family is by far the most important thing in my life,
my reason for living." Gorra is survived by his parents, a sister, and a brother.
Funeral Mass for North Bergen paratrooper
Added by Reena Rose Sibayan on March 2, 2010 at 4:28 PM
Army reservists from Fort Dix salute the hearse carrying the casket of Army paratrooper Sgt. Marcos A.
Gorra, 22, of North Bergen, as it arrives at St. Mary's Church on 65th Street in West New York for the
funeral Mass, Tuesday, Mar. 2, 2010. -- Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal
Army reservists from Fort Dix carry the casket of Army paratrooper Sgt. Marcos A. Gorra, 22, of North
Bergen, inside St. Mary's Church on 65th Street in West New York for the funeral Mass, Tuesday, Mar.
2, 2010. -- Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal
Added by Reena Rose Sibayan on March 2, 2010 at 4:28 PM
Family and friends of Army paratrooper Sgt. Marcos A. Gorra, 22, of North Bergen, enter St. Mary's
Church on 65th Street in West New York to attend his funeral Mass, Tuesday, Mar. 2, 2010. -- Reena
Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal
Added by Reena Rose Sibayan on March 2, 2010 at 4:28 PM
An army reservist waits to drape the US flag over the casket of Army paratrooper Sgt. Marcos A. Gorra,
22, of North Bergen, as the priest gives the final benediction at the end of the funeral Mass at St.
Mary's Church on 65th Street in West New York, Tuesday, Mar. 2, 2010. -- Reena Rose Sibayan/The
Jersey Journal
Added by Reena Rose Sibayan on March 2, 2010 at 4:28 PM
Army reservists from Fort Dix carry the casket of Army paratrooper Sgt. Marcos A. Gorra, 22, of North
Bergen, out of St. Mary's Church on 65th Street in West New York after the funeral Mass, Tuesday,
Mar. 2, 2010. -- Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal
Added by Reena Rose Sibayan on March 2, 2010 at 4:28 PM
Army reservists from Fort Dix carry the casket of Army paratrooper Sgt. Marcos A. Gorra, 22, of North
Bergen, out of St. Mary's Church on 65th Street in West New York after the funeral Mass, Tuesday,
Mar. 2, 2010. -- Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal
Added by Reena Rose Sibayan on March 2, 2010 at 4:28 PM
The family of Army paratrooper Sgt. Marcos A. Gorra, 22, of North Bergen, leave the St. Mary's Church
on 65th Street in West New York as his flag-draped casket is placed inside a hearse after the funeral
Mass, Tuesday, Mar. 2, 2010. -- Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal
Soldiers carry the American Flag draped casket of U.S. Army Sgt. Marcos Gorra, 22, of North Bergen, N.J.,
during his funeral service Tuesday, March 2, 2010, in Fairview, N.J. Gorra was killed Feb. 21 at Kandahar
Airfield, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne
Division, headquartered at Fort Bragg, N.C.
Soldiers stand on a hill, overlooking the Meadowlands, at Fairview Cemetery Tuesday, March 2, 2010, in Fairview,
N.J., as they salute the flag-draped casket of U.S. Army Sgt. Marcos Gorra, 22, of North Bergen, N.J., who was
killed Feb. 21 at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. The 22-year-old soldier was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 82nd
Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, headquartered at Fort Bragg, N.C.
North Bergen high school to honor paratrooper
killed in Afghanistan today
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY MARCH 2, 2010, 7:02 PM
THE RECORD
NORTH BERGEN – The township’s high school will hold a ceremony honoring fallen Army
paratrooper Sgt. Marcos Gorra Tuesday at 11:45 a.m. in front of the school, according to a news release.
Mayor Nicholas J. Sacco and other officials will join students in front of the school, at 7417 Kennedy
Blvd., to watch the funeral procession drive past.
The high school marching band will play the national anthem and taps in honor of Gorra, a 2006
graduate of the school.
A funeral mass will be held at St. Mary Roman Catholic Church in West New York at 11 a.m. with
interment to follow at Fairview Cemetery. Gorra’s family has asked that the funeral be private.
Gorra was killed last week during a training exercise at Kandahar Air Base in Afghanistan. His death is
under investigation, an Army spokesman said.
– Matthew Van Dusen
Cpl. Michael D. Jankiewicz
Hometown: Ramsey, New Jersey, U.S.
Age: 23 years old
Died: April 9, 2010 in Operation Enduring Freedom.
Unit: Army, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.
Incident: Died in Zabul, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when the CV-22 Osprey he was flying in
crashed.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Cpl. Michael D. Jankiewicz, 23, of Ramsey, N.J., died April 9 in Zabul, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained
when the CV-22 Osprey he was flying in crashed. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort
Benning, Ga.
Army Cpl. Michael D. Jankiewicz
Died April 09, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom
23, of Ramsey, N.J.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.; died April 9 in
Zabul, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when the CV-22 Osprey he was flying in crashed.
NJ town to honor soldier killed in Afghanistan
The Associated Press
RAMSEY, N.J. — Residents in a northern New Jersey town on Thursday plan to honor an Army Ranger
who died in a plane crash in Afghanistan.
Ramsey residents plan to line up as Cpl. Michael Jankiewicz’s coffin is taken to a funeral home. His funeral
will take place Sunday.
The 23-year-old died Friday when the CV-22 Osprey aircraft in which he was riding crashed during a
combat operation.
Two Air Force crew members and a government contractor also were killed. The Army said the crash did
not result from enemy fire.
Jankiewicz was on his second tour in Afghanistan. He also had deployed twice to Iraq.
The Bergen County Technical High School graduate enlisted in July 2006.
His mother, Serena, lives in Ramsey and his father, Anthony, lives in Stroudsburg, Pa.
Army Ranger from Ramsey killed in Osprey crash
in Afghanistan
Sunday, April 11, 2010
LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY APRIL 11, 2010, 8:24 PM
BY JUSTO BAUTISTA AND MATTHEW VAN DUSEN
THE RECORD
STAFF WRITERS
A 23-year-old Army Ranger from Ramsey was killed in Afghanistan last week, along with three others,
when a U.S. Air Force Osprey crashed in Zabul Province, about 200 miles southwest of Kabul.
AP
An Army carry team carries a transfer case containing the remains of Army Corporal
Michael D. Jankiewicz Saturday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
On Saturday, Cpl. Michael Jankiewicz’s father, Anthony, went to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to
receive Michael’s body.
“It was just a tragic accident,” Anthony Jankiewicz, of East Stroudsburg, Pa., said Sunday, although
Army officials “in the know” have been unable to provide details about the Thursday crash. Two other
military personnel and a civilian contractor were also killed in the crash, the tilt-rotor aircraft’s first
within a combat zone, according to NATO officials.
A Taliban spokesman initially said militants had shot down the aircraft, but officials in Afghanistan
have discounted that claim.
Anthony Jankiewicz said he learned that something had happened to Michael while at work Friday at
his trucking firm in Elizabeth.
Jankiewicz was 23.
“I only prayed that he was not in the enemy’s hands,” he said.
On Sunday, Michael Jankiewicz’s family said that in his four years in the military, Michael never talked
about his work. He was an Army Ranger, a member of the military’s elite rapid-strike force that
specializes in covert missions.
“They do stuff they just don’t want the enemy to know about,” Anthony Jankiewicz said. “Michael,
being the good Ranger, would only say, ‘I can’t wait to get back to my platoon.’ “
Michael, serving with the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, had just left for his second tour of
Afghanistan in March, after having served twice in Iraq.
“My brother had a love for this country … he’s a hero,” said his sister, Michelle Jankiewicz, 27, of
Midland Park.
Michael graduated from Ramsey High School in 2006. Never the “greatest” student, according to his
father, he played a little golf, loved history and knew he wanted to be a soldier as a child. “He could
have been 3 years old when he was talking about it,” said his father.
“There were countless times I was called to [high school] counselors who said, ‘He is so damn smart,
but he doesn’t want to be here,’ “ Anthony Jankiewicz said. “He kind of thought he knew more history
than anybody who worked at the school. He was more into world politics, a history buff. He could tell
you anything you needed to know about American history.”
Michael was never injured overseas, but he did suffer a broken femur during an airborne exercise in
Savannah, Ga., while landing hard with a .50-caliber machine gun. Though the Rangers’ tough training
regimen apparently never bothered the 6-footer.
“He was fit as a fiddle,” his father said. “I swear to God, I thought he had super human powers.”
At the family’s house in Ramsey on Sunday, and on Michael’s Facebook page, friends paid their
respects throughout the day.
“He once told my mother that if anything happened to him at least he would be doing what he loved,”
Michelle Jankiewicz said.
She said an Army buddy is bringing “Hans,” Michael’s German shepherd, home to Ramsey from Fort
Benning, Ga. “He always wanted a German Shepherd … he had a stuffed German Shepherd as a
youngster, and finally got a real one he named Hans six months ago,” Michelle said.
Funeral arrangements have not been finalized, but will be handled by the Van Emburg-Sneider-Pernice
Funeral Home in Ramsey.
Michael Jankiewicz will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington.
Air Force Maj. Randall “Randy” Voas, 43, of Minneapolis-St. Paul and 45-year-old Senior Master Sgt.
James B. Lackey of Green Clove Springs, Fla., were also killed in the crash, according to the
Department of Defense. Officials have not identified the fourth victim.
RELEASE NUMBER: 100413-01
DATE POSTED: APRIL 13, 2010
PRESS RELEASE: USASOC Soldier killed in aircraft Crash
U.S. Army Special Operations Command Public Affairs Office
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, April 13, 2010) — An Army Ranger died
April 9, from injuries sustained in a CV-22 Osprey crash while operating in southern
Afghanistan with Company A, 3d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.
While deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Corporal Michael D.
Jankiewicz, 23, was conducting a combat operation targeting a terrorist network in
Zabul Province, Afghanistan when the CV-22 Osprey in which he was riding crashed.
Cpl. Jankiewicz was rapidly pulled from the wreckage and immediately treated by unit
medical personnel, but he quickly succumbed to the injuries he had sustained.
Two U.S. Air Force crew members and a government contractor were also killed. Other
Soldiers were also injured in the crash, treated by unit medical personnel and quickly
evacuated for medical treatment.
Corporal Michael D. Jankiewicz
“Corporal Jankiewicz embodied the true spirit of the Ranger. He was a patriot, fearless
in combat, and a true warrior. He represents the next “Greatest Generation,” said Col. Michael E. Kurilla, 75th Ranger
Regiment commander. "I wish all of America could have witnessed the character, devotion to duty, and selfless service
of Cpl. Jankiewicz."
Cpl. Jankiewicz was on his fourth deployment in support of the War on Terror. He had previously deployed twice to
Iraq and once to Afghanistan.
“Corporal Jankiewicz was an inspiration to his unit – always optimistic and seeing the positive side of even the
toughest situations. He was a true warrior who clearly understood what he was fighting for”, said Col. Dan Walrath, 3rd
Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment commander.
Cpl. Jankiewicz enlisted in the U.S. Army in July 2006 from his hometown of Ramsey, N.J. During his service with
Company A, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, he served as a grenadier, machine gunner and machine gun team
leader.
Jankiewicz is survived by his father, Anthony Jankiewicz of Stroudsburg, Pa., and mother, Serena Jankiewicz of
Ramsey, N.J.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, though it is confirmed the crash did not result from enemy fire.
Company A, 3d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment is based at Fort Benning, Ga.
75TH RANGER REGIMENT BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH U.S. ARMY SPECIAL
OPERATIONS COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE FORT BRAGG, NC 28310 / (910) 432-6005 /
http://news.soc.mil
Corporal Michael D. Jankiewicz
Killed in action on April 9, 2010
Operation Enduring Freedom
Corporal Michael D. Jankiewicz was a machine gun team leader assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 75th
Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was born on Jan. 23, 1987 in Ridgewood, New Jersey.
Cpl. Jankiewicz was killed during a combat operation in Zabul Province, Afghanistan April 9, 2010 when the
CV-22 Osprey aircraft in which he was riding crashed. He was rapidly pulled from the wreckage and treated by
unit medical personal, but succumbed quickly to the injuries he had sustained.
Cpl. Jankiewicz was on his fourth deployment in support of the War on Terror with one previous deployment to
Afghanistan and two to Iraq.
After graduating from Bergen County Technical High School in Teterboro, New Jersey, Cpl. Jankiewicz enlisted
in the U.S. Army in July 2006 in Philadelphia. He completed One Station Unit Training at Fort Benning, Georgia
as an Infantryman. Then after graduating from the Basic Airborne Course, he was assigned to the Ranger
Indoctrination Program also at Fort Benning.
Following graduation from the Ranger Indoctrination Program, Cpl. Jankiewicz was assigned to Company A, 3rd
Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment in May 2007 where he served as a Grenadier, Machine Gunner, and Machine
Gun Team Leader.
His military education includes the Basic Airborne Course, Ranger Indoctrination Program, and the U.S. Army
Ranger Course.
His awards and decorations include the Ranger Tab, Combat Infantryman’s Badge and the Parachutist Badge. He
has also been awarded the Army Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Army Good Conduct Medal,
National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism
Service Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon.
He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Meritorious Service Medal.
Cpl. Jankiewicz is survived by his father Anthony Jankiewicz of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania and Serena
Jankiewicz of Ramsey, New Jersey.
As a Ranger, Cpl. Michael D. Jankiewicz selflessly lived his life for others while he distinguished himself as a
member of the Army’s premier light-infantry unit, which remains continuously deployed in support of the Global
War on Terrorism. In every instance he fought valiantly as he served his fellow Rangers and our great Nation.
RANGERHONOR
MISSION
This is an honor mission for KIA Cpl Michael D Jankiewicz.
Cpl. Michael D. Jankiewicz, 23, of Ramsey, N.J., died April 9 in Zabul, Afghanistan, of wounds
sustained when the CV-22 Osprey he was flying in crashed. The 2006 Ramsey High School
graduate had returned to Afghanistan last month to serve his second tour of duty with the 3rd
Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, where he was a member of an elite rapid-strike force that
specializes in covert missions. He also had deployed twice to Iraq.
He was a graduate of Bergen County Technical High School and enlisted in July 2006. He is
survived by his mother, Serena, of Ramsey, and his father, Anthony, of East Stroudsburg.
Funeral arrangements will be handled by Van Emburgh-Sneider-Pernice Funeral Home in
Ramsey, N.J. Visitation is scheduled for Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A service will follow at 5 p.m. at Saint Paul's Church on
Wyckoff Avenue in Ramsey. Burial will be Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at Arlington National
Cemetery in Virginia.
We will be forming a flag line at the Van Emburgh Funeral Home, 109 Darlington Ave. in
Ramsey, NJ for each of the viewings, Saturday and Sunday. Sunday after the viewing we will
be escorting Jankiewicz to St. Paul’s Church, 200 Wyckoff Ave. also in Ramsey, NJ, for
services.
Viewings are Saturday 11am-3pm & 5pm-9pm
Sunday 11am-4pm.
Big Daddy will be rallying at 9:00am both Saturday and Sunday at the Shoprite Parking lot off
Exit 12 on the NJ Turnpike (Carteret exit). Go down the ramp, stay to the left towards Carteret,
make a left on Roosevelt, Shoprite is one block on the right, enter at Burger King.
Procession planned for fallen soldier and Ramsey
grad
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY APRIL 14, 2010, 4:49 PM
BY ALLISON PRIES
THE RECORD
Staff Writer
RAMSEY – Residents are invited to pay their respects Thursday when U.S. Army Ranger Michael D.
Jankiewicz, who was killed Friday in Afghanistan, is returned home to Ramsey.
U.S. Army Ranger Michael D. Jankiewicz
A reverse 911 will go out this evening telling residents to gather at noon along the procession route from
East Main Street, to North Central Avenue, to Darlington Avenue as Jankiewicz is delivered to the Van
Emburgh-Sneider-Pernice Funeral Home.
A viewing will be held there Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and on Sunday from 11
a.m. to 4 p.m. His funeral will be at 5 p.m. Sunday at St. Paul RC Church in Ramsey. Interment is
Tuesday at 1 p.m. at Arlington National Cemetery.
Jankiewicz, 23, died when a U.S. Air Force Osprey, a hybrid helicopter-airplane, he was riding in
crashed in Zabul Province, about 200 miles southwest of Kabul. The 2006 Ramsey High School
graduate had returned to Afghanistan last month to serve his second tour of duty with the 3rd
Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, where he was a member of an elite rapid-strike force that specializes
in covert missions.
Donations in his memory may be sent to the Lead the Way Fund www.leadthewayfund.org. And
tributes, memories and condolences can be left at www.vanemburghsneider.com.
Members of the U.S. Army's Old Guard carry the casket of Army Cpl. Michael Jankiewicz, of Ramsey, N.J. ,
who was killed in a CV-22 Osprey aircraft crash in Afghanistan, during a burial service at Arlington
National Cemetery on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 in Arlington,
Va.
An U.S. Army honor guard carries the casket of Army Cpl. Michael Jankiewicz, of Ramsey, N.J. , who was
killed in a CV-22 Osprey aircraft crash in Afghanistan, during a burial service at Arlington National
Cemetery on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 in Arlington, Va.
The family of Army Cpl. Michael Jankiewicz, of Ramsey, N.J. , who was killed in a CV-22 Osprey aircraft
crash in Afghanistan, during a burial service at Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 in
Arlington, Va. From left, father Anthony Jankiewicz, sister Michelle Jankiewicz, and mother Serena
Jankiewicz.
Members of the U.S. Army's Old Guard pass the flag of Army Cpl. Michael Jankiewicz, of Ramsey, N.J. ,
who was killed in a CV-22 Osprey aircraft crash in Afghanistan, during a burial service at Arlington
National Cemetery on Tuesday, April 20, 2010, in Arlington, Va.
Sgt. Ronald A. Kubik
Hometown: Brielle, New Jersey, U.S.
Age: 21 years old
Died: April 23, 2010 in Operation Enduring Freedom.
Unit: Army, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.
Incident: Died in Logar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained while conducting combat
operations.
Sergeant Ronald Alan Kubik
(Asbury Park Press)
SERGEANT RONALD ALAN KUBIK
AGE: 21 HAZLET
Sergeant Ronald Alan Kubik, 21, of Hazlet, was killed in action on Friday, April 23, 2010, during
a combat operation in Logar Province, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom
while assigned to Company D, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment in the U.S. Army. He was
born June 22, 1988 in Point Pleasant. He lived most of his life in Manchester before moving to
Brielle. He attended Manchester High School and Manasquan High School, where he was a
member of the wrestling and football teams before graduating in 2006. He joined the Army in
2007 and became a proud U.S. Army sergeant and ranger.
Ronald is survived by his beloved parents, his father, Ronald A. Kubik and his wife Rose of
Hazlet; his mother, Eileen Daly of Brielle; his loving sisters, Mary Kubik and her husband Jim of Farmingdale, and Amy
L. Kubik of Point Pleasant; his dear step brother, Fred Lonardo of Union Beach; his godfather and uncle, Deacon Alex
Kubik, along with many aunts, uncles, cousins, niece, nephew and many friends. He will be sadly missed, but never
forgotten.
Family and friends are invited to visit from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday, May 2 and from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m.
Monday, May 3 at the Shore Point Funeral Home and Cremation Service, 3269 Highway 35 North, Hazlet. An evening
prayer vigil will be offered at 7:30 p.m. Sunday evening by Reverend Daniel F. Swift, followed by an Army
presentation of honors and awards. A Funeral Liturgy in celebration of his life will be offered at 11 a.m. Monday, May
3 at St. Benedict's Catholic Church, 165 Bethany Road, Holmdel. Interment will follow with full military honors at the
Brig. Gen. William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 165 Provinceline Road, Arneytown.
In respect of Ronald's wishes, donations to the American Red Cross or the American Cancer Society in his memory in
lieu of flowers would be appreciated.
The Kubik family would like to invite family and friends to join them on Sunday between the visitation sessions (4 to 7
p.m.) at the American Legion Post, 524 Front St., Union Beach for food and refreshments. For information, directions
or to send condolences to family, visit www.shorepointfh.com.
http://videos.nj.com/starledger/2010/04/fallen_army_sgt_ronald_a_kubik.html
Sgt. Ronald A. Kubik
DOD Identifies Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation
Enduring Freedom. They died April 23 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained while conducting combat
operations. Both soldiers were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.
Killed were:
Sgt. Ronald A. Kubik, 21, of Brielle, N.J., and .
Sgt. Jason A. Santora, 25, of Farmingville, N.Y.
Military news, Monmouth County, Must-See Stories »
Army soldier from Brielle is killed in Afghanistan
By The Star-Ledger Continuous News Desk
April 24, 2010, 4:56PM
Sgt. Ronald Alan Kubik, an Army soldier from Brielle, has died in Afghanistan, military officials
said.
Details on his death have not yet been released by the Department of Defense. His remains
are scheduled to arrive in a military plane at 6:45 a.m. tomorrow at Dover Air Force Base in
Delaware.
Kubik was a member of Manasquan High School's 2006 wrestling team, according to the
team's roster and was an avid fisherman.
Kubik's relatives are expected to travel to the base, where tomorrow morning they will watch
as he is carried off the plane by an honor guard made up of seven U.S. Army soldiers, in a
transfer case draped with an American flag.
His remains will be placed into a waiting vehicle and driven to the Charles C. Carson Center
for Mortuary Affairs, where he will be prepared for burial, said Capt. Newman Robertson, a
spokesman for the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Office.
Military news, Monmouth County, Remembering the Fallen: »
Slain Jersey soldier is remembered as charismatic,
thoughtful
By Ted Sherman/The Star-Ledger
April 24, 2010, 7:58PM
Ron Kubik came into class last fall, a few years removed from graduation and a lifetime away
from the black T-shirts and the spiked green Mohawk he once sported.
He was muscular, unfailingly polite and his Army uniform was neatly pressed.
"Kids in high school don’t realize how easy they have it, compared to real life," he told John
Driscoll, his former history teacher at Manasquan High School. "When you’re here, you think
you know everything."
Kubik was remembered yesterday as a smart, often funny kid who always played against
expectations, and often thought he knew everything. A transfer student from Manchester High
School in Ocean County who played in a punk band, he could steal a scene in acting class and
successfully debate school rules before the board of education.
The body of the 21-year-old from Brielle, a sergeant in the U.S. Army, was to be brought
home tomorrow morning, following his death in Afghanistan. Military officials late yesterday
would not release details of the incident that killed Kubik. A service at Dover Air Force Base in
Delaware was set to mark the transfer of his remains to his family.
Members of his family could not be reached tonight. However, teachers at Manasquan High
School recalled a student who was never quite as tough as he looked. He was a member of
the wrestling team, but liked to debate history. He talked of his friends from his old school,
but seemed to make as many friendships at the new school.
"I met him in my acting class, which is the last place you would expect to find him," said
Harry Harvey, an English teacher. "There were these huge arms, attitude, black shirts and he
always told you how it was. But he loved acting. He was a great fast talker and charismatic."
Harvey pushed him to take his advanced placement English class, where he read Hamlet and
Wuthering Heights.
One day he walked into school with his hair dyed bright green and spiked into a Mohawk.
Some of his teachers kidded him about it, but one of the vice principals was not especially
taken with the look and threatened him with suspension. Kubik challenged it and fought the
matter all the way to the board of education, researching the rule and interviewing teachers
over whether they thought he was a distraction. And unexpectedly won.
A week later, he came into school with it all cut off.
"It wasn’t really important to him, but he just didn’t like the rule," recalled Driscoll.
Jamie Mawn, who had Kubik for journalism and English classes, said he brought with him a
tremendous amount of energy. "I think he was a kid who was always thought to be a trouble
maker, but he was really a smart kid and a wonderful kid who really had brains. It was
remarkable," he said.
Several of his teachers urged him to go to college after he graduated, and told him to think
about law school. He did go to community college for a few months, but then one day decided
to enlist in the Army.
"I just don’t think he had many options," said Harvey.
Driscoll said Kubik was excited about the work he did. There had been a deployment in Iraq,
and then again in Afghanistan. He was not surprised he was in a leadership role.
"You could tell he was really proud of what he was doing," he said.
Sgt Ronald Alan Kubik
April 25th, 2010 Born: June 22, 1988
Died: April 23, 2010 in Afghanistan
Sgt. Ronald A Kubik of Brielle, New Jersey attended Manasquan High School where he was a
member of the wrestling team and drama. Growing up, Ronald didn’t sway from his
convictions, and he didn’t mind speaking his mind or challenging conformity. He was always
polite in voicing his beliefs and always had a valid point to drive home. He made friends easily
with his wit and charismatic and thoughtful personality. Though he looked tough and played in
a punk band, one quickly realized that Ron was more than that. He was a smart student who
would debate history, and who had potential to enter law school, something he would have
been good at. After a few months at a community college, he enlisted in the United States
Army in March 2007. He served as an assistant machine gunner and as a rifle team leader
with Company D. He was also an avid fisherman. Ronald is survived by his father Ronald A.
Kubik, his mother Eileen M. Kubik and his sister Amy. He died at age 21 in Logar province,
Afghanistan, of wounds sustained while conducting combat operations.
Army-3rd Battalion-75th Ranger Regiment-Fort Benning, Georgia
RELEASE NUMBER: 100425-01A
DATE POSTED: APRIL 25, 2010
PRESS RELEASE: Two U.S. Army Rangers killed in combat
U.S. Army Special Operations Command Public Affairs
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, April 25, 2010)—Two U.S. Army
Rangers were killed in action April 23 during combat operations in support of Operation
Enduring Freedom while assigned to Company D, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.
Sgt. Ronald Alan Kubik, 22, a native of Brielle, N.J. and Sgt. Jason Anthony Santora,
25, a native of Massapequa Park, N.Y were both seriously wounded in a engagement
with an enemy force in Logar Province, Afghanistan.
Both Rangers were treated immediately by unit medical personnel and evacuated to the
nearest treatment facility. They later succumbed to their wounds.
Sgt. Ronald Alan Kubik
Sgt. Kubik, enlisted in the U.S. Army in Philadelphia, Pa., in March 2007. He served in
3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment for more than two years as an assistant machine
gunner and as a rifle team leader with Company D.
Sgt. Santora, 25, a native of Massapequa Park, N.Y., enlisted in the U.S. Army in Fort Hamilton, N.Y. in March 2006.
He served in 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment for more than three years as a mortar platoon ammunition bearer in
Headquarters and Headquarters Company and as a rifle team leader with Company D.
“Sergeant Kubik and Sergeant Santora were Warriors, true Patriots and absolute
Heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our Nation,” said Col. Michael E.
Kurilla, commander, 75th Ranger Regiment. “They were the epitome of the Ranger Fire
Team Leader – fearless, leading from the front, and always concerned for their men.
Winston Churchill said it best, “Never was so much owed by so many to so few.”
Sgt. Kubik was on his third deployment in support of the War on Terror with one
previous deployment to Iraq and one to Afghanistan.
Sgt. Jason Anthony Santora
Sgt. Santora was on his fourth deployment in support of the War on Terror with one
previous deployment to Afghanistan and two deployments to Iraq.
“Sergerants Kubik and Santora were Ranger leaders of the highest caliber and brothers-in-arms who died fighting
together,” said Col. Dan Walrath, commander of 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. “Their actions exemplify the
fighting spirit of the Army Rangers and we will be eternally grateful for the examples they gave us in life.”
Sgt. Kubik is survived by his father Ronald A. Kubik of Hazlet, N.J., his mother Eileen M. Kubik of Pleasant, N.J., and
his sister Amy L. Kubik of Brielle, N.J.
Sgt. Santora is survived by his father Gary Santora of Medford, N.Y., his mother Theresa Santora of Massapequa,
N.Y., his sister, Gina Santora of Medford, N.Y., and his uncle Ralph Fico of Massapequa Park, N.Y.
75TH RANGER REGIMENT
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
U.S. ARMY SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE
FORT BRAGG, NC 28310 / (910) 432-6005 / http://news.soc.mil
Sergeant Ronald Alan Kubik
Died on April 23, 2010
Operation Enduring Freedom
Sgt. Ronald Alan Kubik, 22, was a rifle team leader assigned to 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at
Fort Benning, Ga. He was born on June 22, 1988 in Point Pleasant, N.J.
Sgt. Kubik was seriously wounded in an engagement with an enemy force in Logar Province,
Afghanistan. He later succumbed to his wounds.
He was on his third deployment in support of the War on Terror with one
previous deployment to Iraq and one to Afghanistan. After graduating from high school, Sgt. Kubik
enlisted in the U.S. Army from his hometown of Brielle, N.J. in March 2007. He completed Infantry One
Station Unit Training, the Basic Airborne Course and the Ranger
Indoctrination Program at Fort Benning, Ga.
After graduating from the Ranger Indoctrination Program, he was then
assigned to Company D, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment in October
2007 where he served as an assistant machine gunner and a team leader. His military education
includes the Basic Airborne Course, Ranger Indoctrination Program and the U.S.
Army Ranger Course. His awards and decorations include the Ranger Tab, Combat Infantryman
Badge, and the Parachutist Badge. He has also been awarded the Army Commendation Medal, Army
Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan
Campaign Medal with combat star, Iraq Campaign Medal with combat star, Global War on Terrorism
Service Medal, and Army Service
Ribbon.
He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, and the Meritorious Service Medal.
He is survived by his father Ronald A. Kubik of Hazlet, N.J., his mother Eileen M. Kubik of Point
Pleasant, N.J., and his sister Amy L. Kubik of Brielle, N.J.
As a Ranger, Sgt. Ronald Kubik selflessly lived his life for others and distinguished himself as a
member of the Army’s premier light-infantry unit, continuously deployed in support of the Global War on
Terror, and fought valiantly as he served his fellow Rangers and our great Nation.
- RANGERS LEAD THE WAY!
An Army carry team carries the transfer case containing the remains of Army Sgt. Ronald Alan
Kubik, of Brielle, N.J., upon arrival at Dover Air Force Base, Del. on Sunday, April 25, 2010.
The Department of Defense announced the death of Army Sgt. Ronald Alan Kubik who was
supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
http://videos.nj.com/starledger/2010/04/fallen_army_sgt_ronald_a_kubik.html
The body of US Army Sgt. Ronald A. Kubik returns to the United States on Sun., April 25, 2010.
According to the Department of Defense, Sgt. Kubik, 21, of Brielle, and Sgt. Jason A. Santora, 25, of
Farmingville, NY were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Ga. They
both died from wounds suffered in combat operations Friday in Logar province, Afghanistan. The
remains arrived at Dover Air Force Base aboard an Air Force C-17 transport at about 6:45 am. Many
family members of both soldiers were on hand for the solemn dignified transfer process from the
aircraft to a waiting mortuary vehicle.
Andrew Mills/The Star-LedgerUS Army Brig. General Richard P. Mustion (left) and Air Force
Col. David Wuest (right) stand at attention as Army soldiers carry the flag-draped transfer
case containing the remains of U.S. Army Sgt. Ronald Kubik, 21, from Brielle out of a C-17
Globemaster aircraft during a dignified transfer on the tarmac at Dover Air Force Base today.
U.S. ArmyU.S. Army Ranger, Sgt. Ronald Alan Kubik, 22, a native of Brielle, N.J. , was killed
in action April 23 during combat operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom while
assigned to Company D, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. BRIELLE -- Just four years out
of high school, Ronald Kubik had built a sterling military resume: two tours in Afghanistan and
Iraq; an Army Ranger team leader with a sergeant’s rank; more than half a dozen awards and
commendations.
But on Friday, during his third deployment in as many years, the Brielle native was mortally
wounded during combat operations in Logar Province, Afghanistan, according to the U.S.
Army Special Operations Command. He was two months shy of his 22nd birthday.
Seven soldiers carried Kubik’s body, kept in a flag-draped silver transfer case, during a
ceremony on the tarmac at the Dover Air Force base early this morning.
"You could tell he was really proud of what he was doing," said John Driscoll, who taught
Kubik at Manasquan High School and saw him last fall.
Other instructors recalled a bright and versatile student, a member of the high school
wresting team but also an avid actor and debater.
"I think he was a kid who was always thought to be a trouble maker, but he was really a
smart kid and a wonderful kid who really had brains. It was remarkable," said Jamie Mawn,
another high school teacher.
Kubik enlisted in the U.S. Army in March 2007 and served in the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger
Regiment for more than two years as an assistant machine gunner and rifle team leader.
The unit has stiff entry requirements, including running 12-mile road march in three hours or
less and passing all exams with a 70 percent grade, according to the army’s web site.
Kubik received numerous awards during his service, including the Ranger Tab, the Army
Commendation Medal and the National Defense Service Medal. He was also posthumously
awarded the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Kubik is survived by his father, Ronald Kubik of Hazlet, his mother Eileen Kubik of Point
Pleasant and a sister, Amy Kubik, of Brielle, the army said. They could not be reached for
comment today.
Slain Jersey soldier is remembered as
charismatic, thoughtful
By Ted Sherman/The Star-Ledger
April 24, 2010, 7:58PM
Ron Kubik came into class last fall, a few years removed from graduation and a lifetime away
from the black T-shirts and the spiked green Mohawk he once sported.
He was muscular, unfailingly polite and his Army uniform was neatly pressed.
"Kids in high school don’t realize how easy they have it, compared to real life," he told John
Driscoll, his former history teacher at Manasquan High School. "When you’re here, you think
you know everything."
Kubik was remembered yesterday as a smart, often funny kid who always played against
expectations, and often thought he knew everything. A transfer student from Manchester High
School in Ocean County who played in a punk band, he could steal a scene in acting class and
successfully debate school rules before the board of education.
The body of the 21-year-old from Brielle, a sergeant in the U.S. Army, was to be brought
home tomorrow morning, following his death in Afghanistan. Military officials late yesterday
would not release details of the incident that killed Kubik. A service at Dover Air Force Base in
Delaware was set to mark the transfer of his remains to his family.
Members of his family could not be reached tonight. However, teachers at Manasquan High
School recalled a student who was never quite as tough as he looked. He was a member of
the wrestling team, but liked to debate history. He talked of his friends from his old school,
but seemed to make as many friendships at the new school.
"I met him in my acting class, which is the last place you would expect to find him," said
Harry Harvey, an English teacher. "There were these huge arms, attitude, black shirts and he
always told you how it was. But he loved acting. He was a great fast talker and charismatic."
Harvey pushed him to take his advanced placement English class, where he read Hamlet and
Wuthering Heights.
One day he walked into school with his hair dyed bright green and spiked into a Mohawk.
Some of his teachers kidded him about it, but one of the vice principals was not especially
taken with the look and threatened him with suspension. Kubik challenged it and fought the
matter all the way to the board of education, researching the rule and interviewing teachers
over whether they thought he was a distraction. And unexpectedly won.
A week later, he came into school with it all cut off.
"It wasn’t really important to him, but he just didn’t like the rule," recalled Driscoll.
Jamie Mawn, who had Kubik for journalism and English classes, said he brought with him a
tremendous amount of energy. "I think he was a kid who was always thought to be a trouble
maker, but he was really a smart kid and a wonderful kid who really had brains. It was
remarkable," he said.
Several of his teachers urged him to go to college after he graduated, and told him to think
about law school. He did go to community college for a few months, but then one day decided
to enlist in the Army.
"I just don’t think he had many options," said Harvey.
Driscoll said Kubik was excited about the work he did. There had been a deployment in Iraq,
and then again in Afghanistan. He was not surprised he was in a leadership role.
"You could tell he was really proud of what he was doing," he said.
Brielle soldier, 21, killed during combat operations in
Afghanistan
JIM McCONVILLE • STAFF WRITER • April 26, 2010
BRIELLE — Army Sgt. Ronald Alan Kubik packed a large amount of life in his short 21 years.
"I'm a super-proud father. You couldn't ask for a better son," said his dad, Ronald
A. Kubik. "He accomplished a lot in a short period of time. He did what he loved to
do."
Kubik was killed in action Friday during combat operations in Logar Province,
Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom while assigned to Company D, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger
Regiment.
"It's a shock and a half," Kubik said of his son's death. "You know there's a
chance it can happen, but it really has not quite sunk in."
Kubik, a Brielle resident, is survived by his father, Ronald, of Hazlet; his mother,
Eileen M. Kubik, of Brielle; and his sisters Amy L. Kubik, 25, of Point Pleasant, and
Mary Kubik, 28, of Farmingdale.
"He was adventurous and very creative," Amy Kubik said. "In the short time God gave him to us, he made a difference
and impacted so many lives."
Kubik's family was on hand at at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware early Sunday to
watch as his body was carried off a military plane by an honor guard made up of seven U.S. Army soldiers, in a
transfer case draped with an American flag, officials said.
"His ranger battalion is so amazing," Amy Kubik said. "They stayed with us all
day, walking us through the procedure. They sat with us for hours. We are all just like a giant family right now."
Kubik's body was placed into a waiting vehicle and driven to the Charles C. Carson
Center for Mortuary Affairs at Dover Air Force Base, where he will be prepared for
burial.
Kubik, who enlisted in the Army in March 2007 after attending Brookdale Community College for a few months,
served for more than two years as an assistant machine gunner and as a rifle team leader with Company D.
Kubik was on his third deployment in support of the war on terror with one previous
deployment to Iraq and one to Afghanistan. He was treated by unit medical personnel and evacuated to the nearest
treatment facility where he later succumbed to his wounds, Army officials said.
(2 of 2)
Kubik transferred from Manchester High School in Ocean County to Manasquan High School where he graduated in
2006.
"He came into school his junior year," said Manasquan educator John Driscoll. "He fit in within a week; it was as if he
had gone there his whole life."
An avid electric guitarist who was a part of a metal band, Kubik joined his high
school football and wrestling teams, wrote a column for the school newspaper, took an acting class, and liked
whitewater rafting and skydiving.
Among his most noted high school accomplishments was getting the district's Board of Education to change its policy
and allow him to keep his Mohawk haircut.
"Distracting haircuts were against school policy," said Harry Harvey, his drama and
Advanced Placement English teacher. "He proved them wrong, that it wasn't a
distraction."
But shortly after, Kubik cut his hair short, saying he had proved his point.
His eldest sibling, Mary, said she was not surprised when her brother joined the
military.
"He was always the one who wouldn't stop pushing you until he knew you were pushing to be your best," she said. "He
was that instigator, that motivator."
His commendations include the Ranger Tab, Combat Infantryman Badge, and the
Parachutist Badge. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star and the Meritorious Service
Medal.
Also killed in the same battle was Sgt. Jason Anthony Santora from Massapequa, N.Y.
"Sgts. Kubik and Santora were Ranger leaders of the highest caliber and
brothers-in-arms who died fighting together," said Col. Dan Walrath, commander of 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger
Regiment, in a prepared statement. "Their actions exemplify the fighting spirit of the Army Rangers and we will be
eternally grateful for the examples they gave us in life."
Staff writer Michelle Gladden contributed to this report.
Funeral set for Monday for Army Sgt. Ronald Kubik
APRIL 28, 2010
The funeral for Army Sgt. Ronald Alan Kubik of Brielle will be held 11 a.m. Monday at St. Benedict Roman Catholic
Church, 165 Bethany Road, Holmdel, officials said.
Interment following the funeral will be at Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Cemetery at 350 Provinceline
Rd. in Wrightstown, Burlington County.
A wake will be held 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday at the Shore Point Funeral Home, 3269 State Highway 35,
Hazlet.
Family and friends are invited to come to the American Legion Post 321 at 524 Front St., Union Beach, between the
wake times.
Kubik, 21, was killed in action Friday during combat operations in Logar Province, Afghanistan, in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom while assigned to Company D, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.
-- Staff report
Friday, April 30, 2010
Jersey Shore
Image courtesy: U.S. Army
Sgt. Ronald Kubik loved music. He played the electric guitar and was an enthusiastic member of a New Jersey metal
band. He was also an American soldier making sure freedom's symphony was heard overseas.
Ever since childhood, Sgt. Kubik wanted to be involved in life's many activities. In addition to his musical talents, he
played football, wrote, wrestled, acted, and skydived. After high school and a few months of college, he decided to
become a highly skilled rifleman. Before he could legally buy a beer at home, Kubik deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan
as an elite warrior with the 75th Ranger Regiment.
Kubik's third deployment in the war on terror ended in tragedy one week ago in Afghanistan's Logar province. Next
to his brother in arms, Sgt. Jason Santora, the 21-year-old Ranger was killed supporting combat operations. Kubik
hailed from the Jersey Shore community of Brielle, while Santora grew up in the Long Island suburb of Farmingville.
The Asbury Park Press spoke with several members of Kubik's grieving, yet very proud family.
"He was adventurous and very creative," Amy Kubik said. "In the short time God gave him to us, he made a difference
and impacted so many lives."
The soldier's 25-year-old sister continued:
"His ranger battalion is so amazing," Amy Kubik said. "They stayed with us all day, walking us through the procedure.
They sat with us for hours. We are all just like a giant family right now."
One week after the loss of an American hero, the communities of Brielle, Point Pleasant, and Farmingdale, where
many of Kubik's relatives live, are filled with sadness and grief, but also pride and patriotism. Jim McConville's article
shows us that family members, friends, former teachers, and fellow soldiers are all sharing fond memories of this
fallen warrior, who always excelled whether holding a guitar, rifle, or football in his hands.
While many in our younger generation immediately think of MTV 'reality' characters when the Jersey Shore is
mentioned, I think the region should be known because of people like Sgt. Ronald Kubik. He was a highly skilled
young man who knew he could succeed in many fields at home, but believed there was a greater need for his talents
on the battlefields of the 21st century.
Facebook
When friends and fellow troops visited Sgt. Jason Santora's Facebook page, they'd see a biography section pop up
that revealed a lot in just a few short sentences. "I'm currently in the Army living in Georgia, but I'm a New Yorker at
heart," it begins.
Sgt. Santora never lost his New York roots while training at Georgia's Fort Benning or deploying to Afghanistan and
Iraq twice. He grew up in Farmingville, a popular Long Island suburb with a heavy Italian-American presence. While
he didn't enjoy the winters ("I hate the cold," he wrote on his profile), Santora could often be seen jogging or lifting
weights, as physical fitness was an important part of his life.
According to the Pentagon, Santora, 25, was killed in combat on Friday in Afghanistan's Logar province, alongside Sgt.
Ronald Kubik, 21. The Unknown Soldiers will write more about Sgt. Kubik's life on Friday. Both soldiers were part of
the Army's elite raid force, the 75th Ranger Regiment, which conducts dangerous special operations missions.
The Sachem Patch, which relays community news and tracks alumni of the local school district, obtained a quote
from Sachem Superintendent James Nolan about Santora, who was already regarded as a hometown hero.
"I truly cannot think of anything worse than the tragic loss of a young life. It's just not supposed to be that way. I
know that I can speak for the entire Sachem family when I say that Jason and his family are certainly in our thoughts
and prayers. Jason is a true hero because he gave his life to help make the lives of others better."
Chris Vaccaro's article said the highly decorated Ranger was a mortar platoon ammunition bearer and rifle team
leader. He is survived by his dad, mom, sister, and uncle, who all live at various spots on Long Island. Several family
members traveled to Dover, Delaware, to see their loved one's flag-draped casket return home on Sunday.
Sgt. Jason Santora's Facebook biography ended with a polite offer.
"Anything else you want to know, just ask."
We wish we could. Rest in peace, brave soldier.
Mary McCraw, left, reaches out as her mother, Eileen Daly, cries over a folded flag presented by U.S. Army
Lt. Gen. John Mulholland, right, during the funeral service Monday, May 3, 2010, in Wrightstown, N.J. , for
Daly's son and McCraw's brother, U.S. Army Sgt. Ronald Alan Kubik, 21, of Brielle, N.J. Kubik was killed
in action April 23, 2010, in Logar Province, Afghanistan.
Eileen Daly hugs U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Mulholland, right, during the funeral service for Daly's son, U.S.
Army Sgt. Ronald Alan Kubik, 21, of Brielle, N.J. , Monday, May 3, 2010, at Brigadier General William C.
Doyle Veterans Cemetery in Wrightstown, N.J. Kubik was killed in action April 23, 2010, in Logar
Province, Afghanistan.
Eileen Daly places a rose on the casket of her son, U.S. Army Sgt. Ronald Alan Kubik, 21, of Brielle, N.J. ,
during his funeral service at Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Cemetery, on Monday, May 3,
2010, in Wrightstown, N.J. Kubik was killed in action April 23, 2010, in Logar Province, Afghanistan.
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Shoup, center, salutes during the funeral service at Brigadier General William
C. Doyle Veterans Cemetery Monday, May 3, 2010, in Wrightstown, N.J. , for U.S. Army Sgt. Ronald Alan
Kubik, 21, of Brielle, N.J. Kubik was killed in action April 23, 2010, in Logar Province, Afghanistan.
1st Lt. Salvatore S. Corma
U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release
On the Web:
Public contact:
http://www.defense.gov/Releases/Release.aspx?ReleaseID=13497
http://www.defense.gov/landing/comment.aspx
Media contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132
or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 352-10
May 01, 2010
DOD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring
Freedom.
1st Lt. Salvatore S. Corma, 24, of Wenonah, N.J., died April 29 at Forward Operating Base Bullard,
Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using improvised explosive devices. He was
assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division,
Fort Bragg, N.C.
For more information related to this release, the media may contact the 82nd Airborne Division public affairs
office at 910-432-0662.
Army 1st Lt. Salvatore S. Corma
May 1st, 2010
Army soldier from Wenonah is killed in Afghanistan
By Bob Considine/The Star-Ledger May 01, 2010, 10:36PM
Department of Defense1st Lt. Salvatore Corma, 24, of Wenonah, died April 29. WENONAH -An Army soldier from Gloucester County was killed in combat on Thursday, fighting for
Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced today.
1st. Lt. Salvatore Corma, 24, of Wenonah died from wounds sustained from the detonation of
explosive devices in an insurgent attack, according to the DOD.
Corma was a 2008 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, according to an
alumni bulletin from St. Margaret Regional School in Woodbury Heights.
James Terway, who was friends with Corma through high school and college, said Corma was
scheduled to return in August.
"We were just looking forward to seeing him again," said Terway, of Glassboro. "He was the
most humble and caring person that I think I’ve ever met. He always had that soldier
mentality. When he went to West Point, it wasn’t that big of a surprise to anyone. But he was
extremely soft-spoken, for as tough as he was."
"He was probably one of the nicest, most humble guys you could ever meet," added Nick
Salinas, a friend and teammate of Corma’s on the West Point Taekwondo team. "You will not
find one person who has a bad thing to say about him. He’s going to be greatly missed."
Corma had been assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th
Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, N.C.
"Sal was one of the most selfless and compassionate people I have ever met, and that is the
reason why he was respected by his men," 1st Lt. William L. Banks, fellow platoon leader, told
a CBS affiliate in Philadelphia. "He held his men and himself to a higher standard, and was
willing to place himself in harms’ way to keep his men safe."
At St. Margaret School, Corma was a captain of the winter track team, a member of the
Italian Club and a National Honor Society member. He also competed in the 2005 Taekwondo
national championships representing West Point.
A memorial in his honor will be held in Afghanistan.
Birth: unknown
Death: Apr. 29, 2010, Afghanistan
1st Lt. Salvatore S. Corma, 24, of Wenonah, N.J., died April 29 at Forward Operating Base
Bullard, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using improvised
explosive devices. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment,
4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
Burial: Unknown.....to be updated….
1st Lt. Salvatore S. Corma
a7aaadedf164e7
0
0
24, of Wenonah, N.J., He died April 29 at Forward Operating Base Bullard, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when
insurgents attacked his unit using IED.
'He died a hero to our country'
BY SHRUTI MATHUR DESAI • COURIER-POST STAFF • MAY 3, 2010
DEPTFORD — An Army soldier from Deptford was killed last week in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense has
announced.
1st Lt. Salvatore S. Corma, 24, of Deptford, died Thursday at Forward Operating Base Bullard, of wounds sustained
from an improvised explosive device used during an insurgent attack, according to the Department of Defense.
Corma was a 2008 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, said Mayor Paul Medany, who was one of
the people who wrote a letter of recommendation for Corma's admission.
"He sent a letter to my house when he graduated from the academy, thanking me for the help," Medany said. "It was a
short thing, but the kid remembered us."
Medany, who coached Corma on the same Little League teams his own son played on, said Corma was "a great kid."
"He was one of those kids you never had any problems with," Medany said. "We always thought the kid was going to
have leadership skills, he was one of those quiet, strong types who was very serious and worked hard."
Corma went to St. Margaret's Regional School in Woodbury Heights until 8th grade and then graduated from St.
Augustine Preparatory School in Richland in 2004, said neighbor George Barbin Jr., where Corma continued as a
leader through his secondary school.
Both the Barbin and the Corma families moved to Wayne Court, a cozy cul-de-sac off Glassboro Road, in 1983, and
his son and Corma were each other's first friends, he said.
"He always wanted to do things his way, but not in an overwhelming way," Barbin said.
Corma had just been home a week ago visiting his father, who is ill, he said.
"I think he had only been back over there for a couple a days," Barbin said. "It's a shame."
Corma was praised by a fellow officer.
"Sal was one of the most selfless and compassionate people I have ever met, and that is the reason why he was
respected by his men," said 1st Lt. William L. Banks, fellow platoon leader. "He held his men and himself to a higher
standard, and was willing to place himself in harm's way to keep his men safe."
Corma was skilled in martial arts, said Barbin, who remembered a demonstration Corma gave during his senior year at
St. Augustine Prep where he broke bricks with his hands.
Barbin said Corma's mother, Trudy, always talked about her only son with a sense of pride in her voice, describing the
new things Corma was learning, like jumping out of airplanes.
"They were really proud of him," said Barbin, who noted his neighbors initially had some hesitation about their son
enrolling at West Point. "When everything was going on, we were always afraid something like this would happen.
But Salvatore wanted to do it."
Salvatore was always referred to by his full name, Salvatore S. Corma II, Barbin said, because his father, Salvatore S.
Corma, is called Sal. The family was at the Dover Air Force Base om Delaware this weekend, Barbin said.
Corma was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd
Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
Medany said that even graduating from the academy was a lifetime achievement, let alone all that Corma
accomplished.
"He died a hero to our country," Medany said.
Reach Shruti Mathur Desai at (856) 317-7828 or smathur@camden.gannett.com
Prep grad killed in Afghanistan
BY SHRUTI MATHUR DESAI • GANNETT NEW JERSEY • MAY 3, 2010
DEPTFORD -- A St. Augustine Preparatory School graduate has been killed in the war in Afghanistan by insurgents
who attacked his Army unit.
1st Lt. Salvatore S. Corma, 24, of Deptford died Thursday at Forward Operating Base Bullard of wounds he sustained
from an improvised explosive device used during the insurgent attack, according to the Defense Department.
Corma was a 2008 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, said Mayor Paul Medany, who was one of
the people who wrote a letter of recommendation for Corma's admission.
"He sent a letter to my house when he graduated from the academy, thanking me for the help," Medany said. "It was a
short thing, but the kid remembered us."
Medany, who coached Corma in Little League, said he was "a great kid."
"He was one of those kids you never had any problems with," Medany said. "We always thought the kid was going to
have leadership skills, he was one of those quiet, strong types who was very serious and worked hard."
Corma was a member of the Class of 2004 at Prep, where he was captain of the winter track team and a member of the
National Honor Society.
St. Augustine President the Rev. Paul Galetto, in an e-mail to the school community, said Corma was his parents' only
son.
"Please pray for the Corma family and for all who serve our country," wrote Galetto, who could not be reached for
further comment Sunday.
Neighbor George Barbin Jr. said his son and Corma were each other's first friends.
"He always wanted to do things his way, but not in an overwhelming way," Barbin said.
Corma had just been home a week ago visiting his father, who is ill, Barbin said.
"I think he had only been back over there for a couple a days," he said. "It's a shame."
Corma was skilled in martial arts, Barbin said, who remembered a demonstration Corma gave during his senior year at
St. Augustine Prep where he broke bricks with his hands.
Barbin said Corma's mother, Trudy, always talked about her son with a sense of pride in her voice, describing the new
things he was learning, like jumping out of airplanes.
"They were really proud of him," Barbin said, who said his neighbors initially had some hesitation abouttheir son
enrolling at West Point. "When everything was going on, we were always afraid something like this would happen.
But Salvatore wanted to do it."
Salvatore was always referred to by his full name, Salvatore S. Corma II, Barbin said, because his father,Salvatore S.
Corma, is called Sal.
The family was at the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware this weekend, Barbin said. Corma was assigned to the 2nd
Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, in Fort Bragg, N.C.
At least 967 U.S. troops have been killed in the war in Afghanistan, according to an Associated Press tally.
Medany said even graduating from the academy was a lifetime achievement, let alone all that Corma accomplished.
"He died a hero to our country," Medany said.
Gloucester County native, St. Augustine Prep grad dies
while serving in Afghanistan
From Press staff reports | Posted: Monday, May 3, 2010
A 2004 St. Augustine Preparatory School graduate was killed in Afghanistan Thursday, after rebels attacked
his army unit.
1st Lt. Salvatore S. Corma, 24, was a native of Wenonah. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th
Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division based in Fort Bragg, N.C.
He will be awarded the Purple Heart.
After graduating from St. Augustine Prep, he attended the United States Military Academy at West Point,
competing in the 2005 Taekwondo national championships.
According to a Department of Defense press release, Corma was deployed to Afghanistan in October. He
was scheduled to return to the United States in three months.
He is survived by parents Salvatore and Gertrude Corma.
Corma and 108 others graduated from St. Augustine in May 2004. The school is located in Buena Vista
Township, Atlantic County.
1st Lt. Salvatore S. Corma, 24 Photo by: United States Military Academy at West Point
Friends remember fallen Deptford soldier
Monday, May 03, 2010
By Jim Six and John Barna
gcnews@sjnewsco.com
An Army officer from Deptford Township killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan was the type who
always said thank you.
Even after a Little League baseball game.
"He was a great kid to coach," Deptford Mayor Paul Medany reflected Sunday about 1st Lt. Salvatore S.
Corma II. "He would even thank you after a game."
Corma, the only child of Sal and Trudy Corma of Wayne Court, died Thursday in combat at Forward
Operating Base Bullard, Afghanistan.
Corma, 24, died of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using improvised explosive
devices, the Department of Defense said.
He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team,
82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
Medany, whose son, Patrick, is the same age as the first lieutenant, said he wrote a letter of
recommendation for Corma's entry to West Point.
"When he graduated, he sent me a nice little thank you," Medany said.
Corma graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 2008.
"He was just a great kid. You always hear the old clichs, but he really was exceptional," Medany said.
Corma was a member of the class of 2000 at St. Margaret's Regional School in Woodbury Heights. He
was a 2004 honors graduate of St. Augustine Preparatory School in Richland, Atlantic County.
He was a member of the indoor track team at St. Augustine and participated in judo, according to
classmate and friend, James Terway of Glassboro.
At West Point, Corma was a part of the martial arts program.
"In competing and training with the team, I constantly learn more about myself every day," Corma
wrote in a 2007 testimonial about the program at West Point. "Through my experiences on the team I
have truly learned to embody the warrior ethos that is preached to cadets and soldiers every day. Being
a full contact sport, it teaches one to truly dig deep down and give everything you have."
"This club has given me the opportunity to push myself to the limit every time I step in the ring."
Corma recalled when he had sprained his ankle during a Tae Kwon Do national championship match at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"Fearing I was unable to go on, my teammates played a drastic role in cheering me on and helping me
to dig down and find the will to go on and fight three more rounds despite this injury," he wrote.
Medany said he attempted to call Corma's parents Sunday to offer his condolences but there was no
answer.
Several people who stopped by the Corma's two-story blue with beige trim house off Cattell Road also
found their knocks on the door not answered on Sunday afternoon.
A small sign on the front lawn read "Thank You U.S. Troops." There were two small American flags on
the front lawn.
Fort Bragg Soldier From NJ Dies In Afghanistan
By AP, NBC17, 11 hours ago
The Department of Defense says a 24-year-old Fort Bragg soldier from New Jersey was killed by explosives
in Afghanistan.
Military officials said Saturday that 1st Lt. Salvatore S. Corma died April 29 at Forward Operating Base
Bullard, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using improvised explosive
devices.
Corma was from the Gloucester County community of Wenonah.
He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd
Airborne Division at Fort Bragg.
Friends say Corma, a 2008 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, was due to come home in
August. And while he was often humble and soft-spoken, they say Corma was a tough man and a strong
leader who enjoyed his military service.
NJ soldier killed in Afghanistan; 'He died a hero to our
country'
BY SHRUTI MATHUR DESAI • GANNETT NEW JERSEY • MAY 3, 2010
An Army soldier from Gloucester County was killed last week in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense has
announced.
1st Lt. Salvatore S. Corma, 24, of Deptford, died Thursday at Forward Operating Base Bullard, of wounds sustained
from an improvised explosive device used during an insurgent attack, according to the Department of Defense.
Corma was a 2008 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, said Mayor Paul Medany, who was one of
the people who wrote a letter of recommendation for Corma's admission.
"He sent a letter to my house when he graduated from the academy, thanking me for the help," Medany said. "It was a
short thing, but the kid remembered us."
Medany, who coached Corma on the same Little League teams his own son played on, said Corma was "a great kid."
"He was one of those kids you never had any problems with," Medany said. "We always thought the kid was going to
have leadership skills, he was one of those quiet, strong types who was very serious and worked hard."
Corma went to St. Margaret's Regional School in Woodbury Heights until 8th grade and then graduated from St.
Augustine Preparatory School in Richland in 2004, said neighbor George Barbin Jr., where Corma continued as a
leader through his secondary school.
Both the Barbin and the Corma families moved to Wayne Court, a cozy cul-de-sac off Glassboro Road, in 1983, and
his son and Corma were each other's first friends, he said.
"He always wanted to do things his way, but not in an overwhelming way," Barbin said.
Corma had just been home a week ago visiting his father, who is ill, he said.
"I think he had only been back over there for a couple a days," Barbin said. "It's a shame."
Corma was praised by a fellow officer.
"Sal was one of the most selfless and compassionate people I have ever met, and that is the reason why he was
respected by his men," said 1st Lt. William L. Banks, fellow platoon leader. "He held his men and himself to a higher
standard, and was willing to place himself in harm's way to keep his men safe."
Corma was skilled in martial arts, said Barbin, who remembered a demonstration Corma gave during his senior year at
St. Augustine Prep where he broke bricks with his hands.
Barbin said Corma's mother, Trudy, always talked about her only son with a sense of pride in her voice, describing the
new things Corma was learning, like jumping out of airplanes.
"They were really proud of him," said Barbin, who noted his neighbors initially had some hesitation about their son
enrolling at West Point. "When everything was going on, we were always afraid something like this would happen.
But Salvatore wanted to do it."
Salvatore was always referred to by his full name, Salvatore S. Corma II, Barbin said, because his father, Salvatore S.
Corma, is called Sal. The family was at the Dover Air Force Base om Delaware this weekend, Barbin said.
Corma was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd
Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
Medany said that even graduating from the academy was a lifetime achievement, let alone all that Corma
accomplished.
"He died a hero to our country," Medany said.
NJ Soldier Killed By Explosive In Afghanistan
He Had Been Home A Week Before
Updated: Monday, 03 May 2010, 11:00 AM EDT
Published : Monday, 03 May 2010, 11:00 AM EDT
The Department of Defense says a New Jersey soldier has died from an insurgent attack at a military base
in Afghanistan.
Deptford native 1st Lt. Salvatore S. Corma, was 24.
The U.S. Military Academy graduate was killed in an explosion Thursday at Forward Operating Base
Bullard. He was wounded by an improvised explosive device during an attack.
Neighbors say Corma had been home a week ago to visit his ill father.
New Jersey Real-Time News
Breaking Local News from New Jersey
Gloucester County, Military news »
Army soldier from Wenonah is killed
in Afghanistan
By Bob Considine/The Star-Ledger
May 01, 2010, 10:36PM
Department of Defense1st Lt. Salvatore Corma, 24, of Wenonah, died April 29. WENONAH -An Army soldier from Gloucester County was killed in combat on Thursday, fighting for
Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced today.
1st. Lt. Salvatore Corma, 24, of Wenonah died from wounds sustained from the detonation of
explosive devices in an insurgent attack, according to the DOD.
Corma was a 2008 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, according to an
alumni bulletin from St. Margaret Regional School in Woodbury Heights.
James Terway, who was friends with Corma through high school and college, said Corma was
scheduled to return in August.
"We were just looking forward to seeing him again," said Terway, of Glassboro. "He was the
most humble and caring person that I think I’ve ever met. He always had that soldier
mentality. When he went to West Point, it wasn’t that big of a surprise to anyone. But he was
extremely soft-spoken, for as tough as he was."
"He was probably one of the nicest, most humble guys you could ever meet," added Nick
Salinas, a friend and teammate of Corma’s on the West Point Taekwondo team. "You will not
find one person who has a bad thing to say about him. He’s going to be greatly missed."
Corma had been assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th
Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, N.C.
"Sal was one of the most selfless and compassionate people I have ever met, and that is the
reason why he was respected by his men," 1st Lt. William L. Banks, fellow platoon leader, told
a CBS affiliate in Philadelphia. "He held his men and himself to a higher standard, and was
willing to place himself in harms’ way to keep his men safe."
At St. Margaret School, Corma was a captain of the winter track team, a member of the
Italian Club and a National Honor Society member. He also competed in the 2005 Taekwondo
national championships representing West Point.
A memorial in his honor will be held in Afghanistan.
Salvatore S. Corma II
1st Lt. Salvatore S. Corma II, U.S. Army, of Deptford, NJ. Suddenly, on April 29, 2010 from injuries
sustained when insurgents attacked his unit in Afghanistan. He was 24.
Legacy
A focused, determined man of grit and gratitude; Salvatore leaves a legacy of kindness, respect and
friendship.
Family
Salvatore is the beloved son of Salvatore S. and Gertrude H. Trudy (Keeney); loving grandson of Gertude
H. and the late Frank J. Keeney and the late James and Sadie Corma; dear step-brother of Rose Burns
(Paul) and Donna Palladino; loving nephew to numerous aunts and uncles; dear cousin and special friend
to many.
Farewell Tribute
Salvatores family invites you to celebrate 24 amazing years. Please attend his visitation Tuesday 1-3 PM
and 6-8 PM in the McGUINNESS FUNERAL HOME, 573 Egg Harbor Road, Washington Twp. (Sewell), NJ
and Wednesday 9-10:30 in the Infant Jesus Parish at St. Margaret's Church, 3rd St. and Beech Ave.,
Woodbury Heights, NJ . Funeral Mass Wednesday, 11 AM in the Church. Full Military Honors and
Committal Blessing at the Gloucester County Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Williamstown, NJ. Interment
Thurs. 1 PM in The West Point Cemetery, West Point, NY. In place of sending flowers, please make a
donation in Salvatore's memory to Kennedy University Hospital, 1099 White Horse Rd., Voorhees, NJ
08043, Attn: Development Dept. or to Magee Rehabilitation, 6 Franklin Plaza, Philadelphia, PA 19102, Attn:
Development Fund. Both of these facilities have been invaluable to the Corma family.
Please share a memory about Sal on our site at: www.mcgfuneral.com McGUINNESS FUNERAL HOME:
800-993-0888.
Classmates, school officials remember St. Augustine Prep grad who died while
serving in Afghanistan
By DAN GOOD, Staff Writer | Posted: Monday, May 3, 2010
As years drip from the calendar, school-age recollections fizzle and unravel and evolve. The details aren't
important, really. Hyperbole and myth fill the detail gaps, the legends building and growing with each
subsequent telling ...
Such is the case for St. Augustine Preparatory School's class of 2004. Each year, the school holds a Mr. Prep
event, a talent show for seniors.
Six years ago, then-student Salvatore S. Corma II entered the competition. But he didn't sing. Didn't dance.
He broke a set of concrete blocks on top of his stomach.
"I can't remember if he broke the blocks with his hand or head," said Colin Martin, a former classmate of
Corma's. "Regardless of the procedure he used, everyone was floored and wowed."
"Everybody remembers that incident," said the school's president, Rev. Paul Galetto. "The story still lives
on."
That incident is on a lot of St. Augustine's minds Monday, after it was announced that Corma, 24, a 1st Lt. in
the Army, died Thursday in Afghanistan when rebels attacked his unit.
Corma was a native of Wenonah, Gloucester County. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute
Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division based in Fort Bragg, N.C.
He will be awarded the Purple Heart.
Corma ran on St. Augustine's cross country team. Beyond the block-breaking episode, Martin remembers
Corma's 500-watt smile.
"He was always smiling and friendly with everyone," said Martin, now a Latin teacher at the school. "You
graduate and grow older and move in different directions, but it's a shock to have this happen to one of your
own."
After wowing St. Augustine's students and faculty with his martial arts skills, he attended the United States
Military Academy at West Point, competing in the 2005 Taekwondo national championships.
According to a Department of Defense press release, Corma was deployed to Afghanistan in October. He
was scheduled to return to the United States in three months. He is survived by parents Salvatore and
Gertrude Corma.
Galetto said Corma was home recently to visit his father, who underwent surgery.
Corma and 108 others graduated from St. Augustine in May 2004. Galetto keeps that class's yearbook near
his desk. He flipped to Corma's senior quote Monday, a passage from Thoreau.
"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." Galetto thinks the quote
serves as a fitting summary of Corma's life.
"Of all the millions of quotes to choose from, he chose this one," Galetto said. "His loss is sad, a tragedy, but
he became an Army officer and fought for our country. He lived his dreams.."
Posted in ATLANTIC on Monday, May 3, 2010 9:00 pm Updated: 5:56 am.
NJ soldier killed in Afghanistan; 'He died a hero to our
country'
BY SHRUTI MATHUR DESAI • GANNETT NEW JERSEY • May 3, 2010
An Army soldier from Gloucester County was killed last week in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense
has announced.
1st Lt. Salvatore S. Corma, 24, of Deptford, died Thursday at Forward Operating Base Bullard, of wounds
sustained from an improvised explosive device used during an insurgent attack, according to the
Department of Defense.
Corma was a 2008 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, said Mayor Paul Medany, who was
one of the people who wrote a letter of recommendation for Corma's admission.
"He sent a letter to my house when he graduated from the academy, thanking me for the help," Medany
said. "It was a short thing, but the kid remembered us."
Medany, who coached Corma on the same Little League teams his own son played on, said Corma was "a
great kid."
"He was one of those kids you never had any problems with," Medany said. "We always thought the kid was
going to have leadership skills, he was one of those quiet, strong types who was very serious and worked
hard."
Corma went to St. Margaret's Regional School in Woodbury Heights until 8th grade and then graduated
from St. Augustine Preparatory School in Richland in 2004, said neighbor George Barbin Jr., where Corma
continued as a leader through his secondary school.
Both the Barbin and the Corma families moved to Wayne Court, a cozy cul-de-sac off Glassboro Road, in
1983, and his son and Corma were each other's first friends, he said.
"He always wanted to do things his way, but not in an overwhelming way," Barbin said.
Corma had just been home a week ago visiting his father, who is ill, he said.
"I think he had only been back over there for a couple a days," Barbin said. "It's a shame."
Corma was praised by a fellow officer.
"Sal was one of the most selfless and compassionate people I have ever met, and that is the reason why he
was respected by his men," said 1st Lt. William L. Banks, fellow platoon leader. "He held his men and
himself to a higher standard, and was willing to place himself in harm's way to keep his men safe."
Corma was skilled in martial arts, said Barbin, who remembered a demonstration Corma gave during his
senior year at St. Augustine Prep where he broke bricks with his hands.
Barbin said Corma's mother, Trudy, always talked about her only son with a sense of pride in her voice,
describing the new things Corma was learning, like jumping out of airplanes.
"They were really proud of him," said Barbin, who noted his neighbors initially had some hesitation about
their son enrolling at West Point. "When everything was going on, we were always afraid something like this
would happen. But Salvatore wanted to do it."
Salvatore was always referred to by his full name, Salvatore S. Corma II, Barbin said, because his father,
Salvatore S. Corma, is called Sal. The family was at the Dover Air Force Base om Delaware this weekend,
Barbin said.
Corma was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team,
82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
Medany said that even graduating from the academy was a lifetime achievement, let alone all that Corma
accomplished. "He died a hero to our country," Medany said.
Soldier recalled for his caring toward others
By SHRUTI MATHUR DESAI • Courier-Post Staff • May 4, 2010
Robert Cahall talks about his best friend, Army 1st Lt. Salvatore S. Corma, who was killed in Afghanistan. (AL SCHELL/CourierPost)
DEPTFORD — It was a small gesture -- sending a case of energy drinks back to his fellow soldiers in
Afghanistan while he was home on leave.
But that act of caring and concern defined 1st Lt. Salvatore S. Corma's personality, said his best friend
Robert Cahall.
"It showed his commitment to what he was doing," said Cahall, 24. "He was, without a doubt, the most
selfless and kind person I knew."
Corma was killed Thursday in Afghanistan during an insurgent attack. He was 24.
Cahall was asked to speak on behalf of the Corma family. The family members had not returned to their
Deptford home from Dover Air Force Base, where the bodies of military personnel are received.
Cahall, a Deptford resident, said the family is doing "as well as can be expected," after learning of the death
of their only son. Corma was home recently and had his leave extended to spend more time with his family,
including his father who is ill.
Funeral arrangements are pending, he said.
Cahall last saw Corma on April 5, the night before Corma went back to Afghanistan, where he was part of
the 82nd Airborne Division, based in Fort Bragg.
The 2008 West Point Academy graduate knew he was in a dangerous area and he knew the risks, Cahall
said, but he felt strongly about his position in the military and "he wouldn't have had it any other way," he
said.
Corma was a man of hidden talents, Cahall said, and a man who lead by example.
George Barbin III, who graduated from St. Augustine Preparatory School with Corma in 2004, remembered
everyone being surprised when Corma performed during a senior show at school.
"Sal was not a real big kid and everyone was wondering what he was going to come out and do," Barbin
said. Corma proceeded to have cinder blocks chopped off his abs while he balanced between two chairs
and demonstrated various kicks and punches in his martial arts performance.
"When it was done, it was just stone silence," Barbin said.
Besides martial arts, Corma was a skilled guitar player, Cahall said, and also enjoyed going to the shooting
range. The two were both avid gun collectors and became familiar faces at the Deptford Police Department
for getting new permits for firearms added to their collection, said Detective Sgt. George Johnson.
Deptford Mayor Paul Medany, who coached Corma's Little League team, described Corma as small and not
outwardly athletic, but as a player he had "grit," he said. Corma also had grace, thanking Medany for
coaching after each game.
Medany, who wrote a recommendation letter to West Point on Corma's behalf, said he wasn't surprised
when he got the request.
"Even as a kid, you knew he's perfect for that," Medany said, who described Corma as a hero.
Cahall said Corma was the kind of person who "would've done anything for anybody," he said.
The Deptford Township Council had a moment of silence for Corma at Monday night's meeting. Medany
said the township will wait to hear about the family's wishes before taking any further action to honor Corma.
Neighbors said it's been a tough week for the close-knit neighborhood, where most of the families have
lived side-by-side for more than 25 years.
Ben Bono, 23, said he felt a sense of dread when he saw a military vehicle waiting in the Cormas' driveway
last Thursday.
"I knew it was bad when I saw the chaplain come out," Bono said. Bono described Corma as someone who
"let his actions do the speaking," he said. "He was a winner in my book."
Neighbor Jack Abruzzo, 67, said the neighborhood is anxious to reach out to the family, but they are waiting
to hear about the family's wishes and service information.
Cahall said that Corma would probably be appreciative of all the love and support the community has
shown on his behalf, but wouldn't want anyone to feel distraught, because Corma chose this career and
was committed to the cause.
However, Cahall said, "The loss we feel is indescribable."
Reach Shruti Mathur Desai at (856) 317-7828 or smathur@camden.gannett.com
Col. John M. McHugh
Hometown: West Caldwell, New Jersey, U.S.
Age: 46 years old
Died: May 18, 2010 in Operation Enduring Freedom.
Unit: Army, U.S. Army Battle Command Training Program, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
Incident: died May 18 in Kabul, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their
convoy with a vehicle-borne makeshift bomb.
U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release
On the Web:
Public contact:
http://www.defense.gov/Releases/Release.aspx?ReleaseID=13544
http://www.defense.gov/landing/comment.aspx
Media contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132
or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 412-10
May 19, 2010
DOD Identifies Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the death of five soldiers who were supporting Operation
Enduring Freedom. They died May 18 in Kabul, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their
convoy with a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device.
Killed were:
Col. John M. McHugh, 46, of New Jersey, assigned to the U.S. Army Battle Command Training Program,
Fort Leavenworth, Kan.;
Lt. Col. Paul R. Bartz, 43, of Waterloo, Wis., assigned to Headquarters, 10th Mountain Division (Light
Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.;
Lt. Col. Thomas P. Belkofer, 44, of Perrysburg, Ohio, assigned to Headquarters, 10 th Mountain Division
(Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.;
Staff Sgt. Richard J. Tieman, 28, of Waynesboro, Pa., assigned to Special Troops Battalion, V Corps,
Heidelberg, Germany; and
Spc. Joshua A. Tomlinson, 24, of Dubberly, La., assigned to Special Troops Battalion, V Corps, Heidelberg,
Germany.
Col John M. McHugh
May 20th, 2010
Died: May 18, 2010 in Kabul, Afghanistan
Col. John M. McHugh of New Jersey attended James Caldwell High School in 1982 before
attending West Point Military Academy. He is the father of five children and had recently
became a grandfather. He died at age 46 in Kabul, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when
enemy forces attacked their convoy with a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device.
Army
U.S. Army Battle Command Training Program
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
To be updated…
New Jersey native Army Col. John McHugh among dead in
Afghanistan suicide attack
BY Rich Schapiro
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Thursday, May 20th 2010, 2:47 PM
Col. John M McHugh of West Caldwell, N.J., died in Tuesday's suicide bombing in Kabul.
An Army colonel from New Jersey who dedicated his life to the military was among the five U.S. soldiers
killed in Tuesday's suicide attack in Kabul, officials said Thursday.
Col. John McHugh, a married father of five, died after a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car
into his NATO convoy, killing a total of 18 people.
The death of McHugh, one of the highest-ranking officers to die in Afghanistan since the war began, sent
shockwaves through his hometown of West Caldwell.
"John never had an off day," said his lifelong friend, Kevin Morris, 46. "He was always upbeat, always
positive. That's what I'm going to miss."
McHugh played on the varsity baseball and soccer teams at James Caldwell High School.
After graduating in 1982, he immediately enlisted at West Point - a move that surprised few of his
classmates.
"He excelled in everything he did since kindergarten," said Morris. "He was always a good student. He was
always a good atlete. John was always loyal. John was always hardworking - kind of the prototype of what
you'd expect in a West Point cadet."
McHugh went on to flight school and later served in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm.
The affable helicopter pilot earned a masters degree in administration from American Public University in
2006.
McHugh was then selected to attend the Army's most prestigious academy, the U.S. Army War College in
Pennsylvania, where he received a masters in strategic studies in 2009.
He was serving as the chief of operations with the Battle Command Training Program when he was killed.
"There wasn't a day that I saw him that he didn't have a smile for someone or didn't have a good word to
say," said Col. Steven Boylan, a spokesman for the program, based out of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas."
"He always had time to see how everyone was doing, to make sure they had everything they needed."
McHugh leaves behind two sons - the younger is only 5 years old - and three daughters. He recently
became a grandfather.
His oldest child, Michael, was serving in Iraq when his father was killed. He met his dad's body in Kuwait
and escorted it home, friends said.
Army Col. John M. McHugh
Died May 18, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom
46, of Newark, New Jersey; assigned to the U.S. Army Battle Command Training Program, Fort
Leavenworth, Kan.; died May 18 in Kabul, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered in a suicide car bombing. Also
killed were Lt. Col. Paul R. Bartz, Lt. Col. Thomas P. Belkofer, Staff Sgt. Richard J. Tieman and Spc.
Joshua A. Tomlinson.
Family says colonel killed in bombing
The Associated Press
WEST CALDWELL, N.J. — Relatives say a career Army officer from northern New Jersey has been killed in
Afghanistan.
James McHugh of Caldwell told The Star-Ledger of Newark on May 19 that his son, Col. John McHugh,
was among 18 people killed May 18 in a suicide car bomb attack on a military convoy in Kabul.
McHugh, a 46-year-old West Caldwell native, was a married father of five who had recently become a
grandfather.
He graduated from James Caldwell High School in 1982 and went on to attend the U.S. Military Academy.
O-6, two O-5s among 5 killed in convoy blast
By David Larter
Staff writer
A suicide bomb attack in Kabul on May 18 killed five American soldiers, the highest number killed in a single
attack in seven months.
A colonel and two lieutenant colonels were among those killed in the attack, marking the first time during the
Afghanistan war that three officers of those ranks were killed in a single incident.
A suicide bomber detonated a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device after targeting a convey traveling
down Kabul’s Darulaman Road.
The Defense Department on May 19 identified the soldiers.
* Col. John M. McHugh, 46, of Newark, N.J., assigned to the Army Battle Command Training Program, Fort
Leavenworth, Kan.
* Lt. Col. Paul R. Bartz, 43, of Waterloo, Wis., assigned to Headquarters, 10th Mountain Division (Light
Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.
* Lt. Col. Thomas P. Belkofer, 44, of Perrysburg, Ohio, assigned to Headquarters, 10th Mountain Division
(Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.
* Staff Sgt. Richard J. Tieman, 28, of Waynesboro, Pa., assigned to Special Troops Battalion, V Corps,
Heidelberg, Germany.
* Spc. Joshua A. Tomlinson, 24, of Dubberly, La., assigned to Special Troops Battalion, V Corps,
Heidelberg, Germany.
The attack also killed Canadian Col. Geoff Parker and more than a dozen Afghan civilians.
Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, told The Associated Press the bomber was a man from Kabul and
that the vehicle was packed with 1,650 pounds of explosives.
A spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force said commanders thought the attack was
indiscriminate and not part of a larger Taliban strategy targeting senior leaders.
“We don’t have any information that they were targeting the specific group,” Air Force Master Sgt. Jeff Loftin
said.
McHugh had been in Kabul for a few days, traveling with Bartz and Belkofer. They were conducting a site
survey in advance of the division headquarters deployment. The headquarters is scheduled to go to
Afghanistan in the fall.
Tieman and Tomlinson were traveling with the convoy.
The incident was quickly condemned by ISAF and NATO leaders.
“This sort of desperate brutality and aggression reminds us of the pessimism of an enemy who seeks to kill
the innocent and to stop the progress necessary for a better Afghanistan,” said ISAF spokesman Brig. Gen.
Josef Blotz in a statement.
In addition to the loss of life, the blast damaged five ISAF vehicles and more than a dozen civilian vehicles.
The last attack of this magnitude was an IED attack on a Stryker in the Arghandab Valley on Oct. 27 which
killed seven soldiers with 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd
Infantry Division.
October was the deadliest month of the U.S.-led occupation of Afghanistan, claiming 56 service-members’
lives; 48 of them were soldiers. So far in May, 18 service members have been killed in Afghanistan.
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/new_jersey/army-colonel-from-newjersey-killed-in-afghanistan-20100520-akd
Army Colonel from New Jersey Killed in Afghanistan
Updated: Thursday, 20 May 2010, 6:59 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 20 May 2010, 4:48 PM EDT
MYFOX NEW YORK STAFF REPORT
MYFOXNY.COM - A career Army officer from New Jersey was among six soldiers and a dozen civilians
killed in one attack in Afghanistan this week, the Pentagon reported.
Col. John M. McHugh, 46, of West Caldwell, died in Kabul on May 18 when insurgents rammed his convoy
with an IED-laded vehicle, the military said. It was an apparent suicide attack.
The attack also killed Lt. Col. Paul R. Bartz, 43, of Waterloo, Wis., Lt. Col. Thomas P. Belkofer, 44, of
Perrysburg, Ohio, Staff Sgt. Richard J. Tieman, 28, of Waynesboro, Pa., and Spc. Joshua A. Tomlinson, 24,
of Dubberly, La., the Department of Defense reported.
The attack also killed Col. Geoff Parker, 42, of the Canadian army, and 12 Afghan civilians, according to
reports.
McHugh was assigned to the U.S. Army Battle Command Training Program, based out of Fort
Leavenworth, Kan. He was a graduate of West Point and the U.S. Army War College.
He is survived by his wife, five children, and one granddaughter, the Pentagon said. One of his children is
also in the Army.
NOTE: This version corrects that McHugh is from West Caldwell, not Newark.
Col. John Michael McHugh
Col. John Michael McHugh went home to God on May 18, 2010, while serving with the United States Army
in Afghanistan. Funeral services will be held in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., on Thursday, May 27, at 11 a.m. A
Memorial Mass celebrating his life will be held on Saturday, June 5, at 11 a.m. at St. Aloysius Church in
Caldwell, N.J. Born in West Caldwell, N.J., John attended St. Aloysius Grammar School, graduated from
James Caldwell High School in 1982, and was a member of the graduating class of 1986, United States
Military Academy at West Point.
John was the loving husband of Connie (Jensen), and the devoted father of Chief Warrant Officer 2 Michael
McHugh, U.S. Army, and his wife, Angela, Kelly Rose, Kristen, Maggie, and David, and grandfather of
Abigail Lynn. He also leaves behind his parents, James and Mary Ann McHugh of West Caldwell; his sister,
Mary Kate Edwards; brothers, James B. McHugh and Frank McHugh; in-laws, Jeff Edwards and Donna
McHugh, and loving niece and nephews, Jim, Tom, Tim, Katie and Brian. John began his military career by
attending the United States Army Aviation School at Fort Rucker, Ala., where he graduated as a UH60
Blackhawk Helicopter pilot.
He served in the first Gulf War in 1990, and distinguishably served for 24 years at numerous bases
throughout the United States and overseas, most recently being deployed for 15 months to Udairi Army
Airfield in Kuwait. He was the recipient of numerous awards and decorations from the United States Army,
including the Legion of Merit Award, the Purple Heart, and a second Bronze Star. A natural born leader,
John was the head of his athletic teams, both at Caldwell High School, where he excelled at soccer and
baseball, and at West Point, where he was goalkeeper for the Army Soccer Team. He continued his love of
sports throughout his life, volunteering to coach soccer for his children. A true American hero, John will
always be remembered as a man devoted to God, to his country, and to his friends and family. "Whether
therefore ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do, do all to the Glory of God." 1 Cor 10:31
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Colonel John McHugh, 1963-2010
The following entry will be all over the place. I apologize ahead of time.
Yesterday, I lost a dear old friend when U.S. Army Colonel John McHugh was killed by a roadside bomb in
Afghanistan. I had known John since I was about eight years old.
We lived in different towns but always crossed paths in sports. Always.
From Church Basketball (he played for St. Al's, I played for Caldwell Presbyterian) to soccer camp in the
summer, to watching our older brothers play American Legion baseball together, to the day when he and I
learned as freshman we had made the Legion team. We warmed the bench together and loved every minute
of being a part of the Post 185 squad. A year later, in 1980, we both got our chance to play...two years later,
we were part of a team that won the Essex County championship and came within a game of winning the
state title. As seniors, we won another county title, but John missed out on the post-season as he had to
report to West Point to begin his life as a cadet. Without John as our backstop, our team was not the same.
He was a catcher in baseball...a goalkeeper in soccer. He was a born leader.
John went on to play goalkeeper at West Point. He loved soccer with all his heart. He was a great goalkeeper
because he was a student of the position. Always in position, head always in the game.
In fact, he recently went to US Goalkeeper Training School...I saw this on Facebook.
"I got schooled this weekend by the Director of Coaching for the NY Red Bulls youth team; however, I
recovered in time to knock the ball out for a corner before it crossed the line. of course, I also pulled a
muscle; maybe it's because he's about 20 years younger and much better than me. But will I ever learn? Of
course not, just keep playing."
Growing up, John was always one of those kids looking to organize a game, be it soccer, basketball or
baseball. He (like myself) was a field rat. In high school, he not only was the goalkeeper on a team that went
to the state finals and a catcher on a team that won the Greater Newark Tounament (a big deal in NJ), but
wrote the game stories for the Caldwell Progress. Seriously, I thought he'd one day become the mayor of
Caldwell. He was loved by everyone because he was so good-natured, friendly and honest. He was one of
those guys who never had an off day. Always had a smile.
John graduated from West Point in 1986 and served his country for the next 24 years, most recently at Fort
Leavenworth in Kansas. He still found time to coach soccer teams in Kansas. He was really looking forward
to watching the World Cup. He wrote me recently asking if I needed someone to carry my bags in South
Africa. He was a huge fan of the US team and my brother Bob. John had two older brothers, Jim and Frank,
who crossed paths in a similar way with my older brothers.
Different towns...same upbringing. Clean-cut boys, like me and my brothers. Parents that wouldn't let them
get out of line. Like my parents.
On May 15th, John wrote on Facebook. "On the road again tomorrow. Heading to Afghanistan for a couple
of weeks. If my travel doesn't get whacky I should be back in time for the Indy 500." The next day, John
wrote: "Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your
requests be known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts
and minds through Christ Jesus. Phillipians 4:6-7."
Three days later, he was killed.
John leaves behind his wife Connie and five children, three daughters and two sons. He recently became a
grandfather at 46. It had been 25 years since I'd spoken to John and I'm thankful that he and I had gotten
back in touch. We'd talked about having a 30-year reunion for our 1981 Legion team. I was counting on him
to put it together.
He would've been our leader.
Rest in Peace, John. I'll never forget you, my friend.
POSTED BY JEFF BRADLEY AT 10:37 AM
Updated: May 24, 2010, 10:38 AM ET
A leader in sports and in battle
A bomb claimed the life of Col. John McHugh, but nothing can erase his impact on others
Courtesy of Tom
Edwards John McHugh kept close tabs on his nephew, Tom Edwards, a third baseman who was drafted by the
Baltimore Orioles in 2008.
It was a simple, quiet act of leadership. Understated but effective.
David Cone was explaining it to me in the New York Yankees clubhouse more than a decade ago, how he
loved when catcher Mike Stanley would put down a sign -- fastball, slider or split -- and follow up the sign
with a little fist pump. "It's a sign of conviction," Cone said. "Like, 'I believe in you and I believe in the pitch
I've just called. Let's do it.'"
I didn't say it to Cone at the time, but I knew a catcher who did the same thing. He was the backstop for
Caldwell (N.J.) American Legion Post 185, and back in the summers of '81 and '82 when I was on the mound
with very little to offer, my catcher, John McHugh, would give me the signs: One for fastball or two for
curve, fist pump. There was no chance I was shaking off Johnny Mac. The fist said it all. I trusted McHugh
100 percent.
It was trust John had earned, not just with me, but with everyone on Post 185. Bust out the clichés: He was a
leader by example. He was the first one to the park and the last to leave. Like a Boy Scout, he was always
prepared. That was Johnny Mac.
There was only one grudge I held against our catcher. In the summer of '82, our last year playing for Post
185, Johnny Mac bailed on us before the state tournament. He had been accepted to the United States
Military Academy at West Point and his appointment meant he had to report for duty just as our postseason
was about to begin.
Without him, we were rudderless. The state tournament was over in a flash, I was soon on my way to the
University of North Carolina and many years -- more than 20 -- would pass before I would hear from John
again. Thanks to Facebook, I'd tracked him down. Not just John, but a bunch of old teammates from Post
185. Suddenly, all of us were 18 again. Busting each other's chops, remembering epic victories, humiliating
defeats and the hot dogs, birch beer and shuffleboard at the Legion Hall on Bloomfield Avenue.
So when my Blackberry vibrated Tuesday night and I saw that one of my old teammates, Eddie Dean, had
sent me a message, I figured it was just more banter.
I was so wrong.
"Jeff, in case you didn't hear ... very sad news. John McHugh was killed by a bomb earlier today in
Afghanistan. Sorry to have to let you know via FB but I thought you should know. I just got the call from
Tommy Bryant. We all thought he was home for good. I'm sure we will get more details in the coming days.
So tragic ... Eddie"
My knees buckled. Tears poured from my eyes. All I could get myself to say, over and over, was "No." I ran
downstairs and got on the computer. Word had spread quickly. It was true. U.S. Army Col. John McHugh,
46, had become one of the highest-ranking American officers to lose his life in the war in Afghanistan.
As I've said, John and I had only reconnected recently. I was able to learn through our Facebook exchanges
that after graduating West Point in 1986, he'd made a career in the Army, married his high school sweetheart,
Connie, had five children (three daughters, two sons) and had recently become a grandfather.
I also learned he had not changed a bit. Our catcher, the freckle-faced altar boy, the All-American-as-applepie kid who never seemed to frown or pout had taken those qualities into the field of battle, bringing,
probably with a little fist pump, a sense of calm, quiet confidence to those around him. Another old friend
and Post 185 teammate, Jim DiOrio, who graduated West Point with John, started a Facebook page,
Remembering Johnny Mac, which went over 1,000 members in less than a day. Praise from American
soldiers who'd served with and under Col. McHugh came streaming in. Here are just a few:
John was the ultimate straight shooter, always right, and never fazed by stress or challenge.
John was a man of true honor, respect, and one of the nicest men one could ever meet.
Col. McHugh is one of the best officers with whom I have had the pleasure of serving. He is loved by so
many. He personified the word "leadership."
Of course, our stories get grander as we age, but to play for Post 185 was a big deal in Caldwell, N.J. Games
under the lights at Kiwanis Oval, a couple hundred fans in the stands. A tradition of championships that
began when my brother Scott (and Johnny Mac's brother Frank) won back-to-back state championships in
1977 and '78, and made a trip to the American Legion World Series in Yakima, Wash., in '78. It was pretty
huge.
Courtesy of McHugh family McHugh and his son, Mike (in Royals cap), took in a game at Yankee Stadium together in
2004. Mike is now a U.S. soldier stationed in Iraq.
John and I gave up our summers to Legion baseball from 1977 to 1982. At first, we were batting practice
shaggers and bat boys for our older brothers. We were both given uniforms as freshmen -- unheard of -because the coach, Jack Venezia, knew how much it would mean to us to simply be on the team. John's main
duty was to catch guys in the bullpen. Mine was to pinch run. We could not have been happier.
We knew our time would come. And when it did, we won a lot of baseball games and a few championships
together. Of course, John contributed a lot more than I did. He was a leader -- a leader who always smiled. A
leader who was always optimistic. A leader who never raised his voice, unless it was to shout, "Let's go,
boys!" or our rallying cry during our 20-game win streak in the summer of 1981, which was (silly as it
sounds), "We. Are. Awesome."
John was not only a great player for Post 185, he was our team beat writer, penning colorful stories for The
Progress, Caldwell's weekly newspaper. Everyone on the team lived for Thursdays when The Progress would
come in the mail and we could pore through John's copy, looking for our names in print. He had the same
gift as a writer that he had as our leader, the ability to be straightforward without hurting anyone's feelings.
From exchanging Facebook messages with John in recent weeks, I know he was thrilled with the career path
I'd chosen. While stationed at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, John had adopted the Kansas City Royals as his
team and, in fact, fired a good question at me a couple of weeks ago. "Tonight," John wrote, "Bruce Chen
was clocking at 94 and the Seattle short reliever (can't recall the name) was shown at 98. It wasn't THAT
long ago that a good major league fastball was high 80s to low 90s; now it seems like the #5 starter in the
rotation is clocked on the TV at 94-96. Given that, my guess is that Randy Johnson or Nolan Ryan would be
clocked today at 110 to 115 mph, because they looked to throw significantly harder than any of the five guys
the Royals start."
Now, tell me, is there a baseball guy out there, anywhere, who'd dispute my old catcher?
At West Point, John gave up baseball to concentrate on his best sport, which was soccer. Fitting his
personality, he was a goalkeeper, and in 1985 he captained the Cadets. Anyone who knows the game of
soccer knows it's the keeper's job to direct and organize the defense, to implore teammates to mark their men
and give everything they've got. When you think of being the goalkeeper at West Point, it's not lost on me
that John was directing the very same men who were training to lead our nation's military forces. Sure, it's
just sports, but finding the right man to handle that task could not have been easy. "He was a leader among
leaders," says DiOrio. "That was Johnny Mac."
It's close to 40 years ago that John and I became friends, our bond forged on the basketball court at St. Al's
Catholic Church in Caldwell, shooting as many baskets as we could during timeouts of our older brothers'
games. I grew up about 10 houses from the Caldwell line, so even though James Caldwell High School was
about three miles closer to my house than West Essex Regional, I had to make the long trek out to West
Essex for high school. Still, I got to be friends with many of John's Caldwell High buddies, guys like Kevin
Morris, Tommy Bryant and Eddie Dean. In my mind, I was always thinking, "I'd fit in better with those
Caldwell guys" because I thought they were all like John McHugh.
Now I realize those guys were just following his lead.
Rest easy, old friend.
Jeff Bradley is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine.
HTTP://ABCLOCAL.GO.COM/WABC/STORY?SECTIO N=NEWS/LO
CAL&ID=7451912
Army Colonel from New Jersey killed in Afghanistan
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Eyewitness News
WEST CALDWELL (WABC) -- The war in Afghanistan is exacting a high toll on U.S. and NATO forces
this week.
The raw power of a suicide car bomb, thousands of miles away in Kabul, Afghanistan, has sent shock waves
all the way to Caldwell, New Jersey.
Five Americans were killed in a suicide bomb attack on Tuesday, and a high-ranking officer from New
Jersey was among the casualties.
"Total shock. It's as if the whole world has stopped the last couple of days," Kevin Morris said.
Morris was talking about his friend of 41 years, Army Colonel John McHugh. They met in grammar school.
The colonel was one of 5 troops killed along with more than a dozen civilians when a suicide car bomb went
off near a NATO convoy.
He is one of the highest ranking members of the military ever to be killed in Afghanistan.
"He could have been the CEO of a company, but he had this need to serve," Gerald Giannetti said.
Giannetti, also a long time friend, talked about a smart kid, a good athlete and a born leader, who grew up to
be special man.
Father to five, Colonel McHugh at 46 just became a grandfather and arrived in Afghanistan just days before
the attack.
His friends remember back to the days at James Caldwell High School. That's where Colonel McHugh was a
star catcher on the baseball team and where he first met his wife.
"He excelled at everything. Baseball, basketball, golf, but most of all he excelled at being a father," Giannetti
said.
McHugh graduated from James Caldwell High School in 1982 and went on to West Point. He is at least the
22nd service member from New Jersey killed in the war. Nearly 100 others from the state have died in Iraq.
A relative says the McHugh family has a history of military service. McHugh's 84-year-old father was
shaken by his son's death. Now he worries about his grandson, Michael, who is serving in Iraq.
The Army flew him to Kuwait to meet his father's body and escort him home.
A big Irish Catholic family now pulls together, relying on faith to keep them strong.
"If anyone is going to heaven, he's already there. Probably just bumped Thurman Munson out of the catcher
position," Morris said.
On his Facebook page, what mattered most -- his family, his uniform and his faith. There is also a quote that
his friends say he posted shortly before he deployed.
"And when our work is done, our course on this Earth is run, may it be said well done, be thou at peace," he
wrote.
It is a terrible loss for those who knew and loved him. We're told that several of his children are on their way
to Dover to meet his body as it comes back from Afghanistan. No funeral plans have been made just yet.
(Copyright ©2010 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
Essex County, Military news, Must-See Stories, Remembering the Fallen: »
U.S. Army Colonel from West Caldwell is killed in
Afghanistan
By Star-Ledger Staff May 19, 2010, 9:50PM
Photo Courtesy of Tanya Tolles
Markow Colonel John McHugh
WEST CALDWELL — To those who knew him growing up, U.S. Army Col. John McHugh was all
things American — "apple pie," "a born leader," "a true gentleman."
"You couldn’t not like him," one of them said Tuesday after friends and family learned that
McHugh, 46, of West Caldwell, had been killed Tuesday in a suicide attack in Afghanistan.
"This is everyone’s loss," said childhood buddy Gerard Giannetti, 46, of Roseland.
McHugh, one of the highest ranking officers to die in Afghanistan since the conflict began in
2001, was one of five U.S. soldiers killed along with a Canadian officer and a dozen Afghan
civilians in Tuesday’s attack in Kabul. The suicide bomber targeted a NATO convoy with more
than a half-ton of explosives.
A father of five who recently became a grandfather, McHugh, a 1986 graduate of the U.S.
Military Academy at West Point, had arrived in Afghanistan from Fort Leavenworth, Kan., just
days before he was killed.
He is at least the 22nd service member with ties to New Jersey to die in Afghanistan since the
war began. Nearly 100 others have died in Iraq since 2003.
"I knew him (McHugh) most of my life — CYO, altar boys, baseball," Giannetti said. "He was a
pre-eminent leader, even as a kid. Very calm in a crisis. He married his high school
sweetheart and defended his country."
The McHugh family has a long tradition of military service.
"There’s always a couple of McHughs in the military. It’s been that way for so many years,"
said Cathy McHugh of Caldwell, a relative. "This is devastating. I don’t know how to handle
it,"
After learning his youngest child had been killed, 84-year-old James McHugh, also of Caldwell,
said his thoughts turned to another solider.
"Michael, my grandson, is also overseas," he said, noting the young man is serving in Iraq.
Jeff Bradley, a writer at ESPN magazine who grew up playing sports with McHugh in North
Jersey, said his friend, a helicopter pilot, was "a leader among leaders in the Army.
"What most of us do in our daily lives, we can’t compare with what he’s been doing for the
last almost 30 years," Bradley said. "He’s a patriot and a hero, and I’m proud to say he was
my friend."
Retired Chief Warrant Officer William Barker broke down as he spoke of McHugh.
"It sounds trite. We say so many nice things about people who have passed, especially in the
military, but he really was a fine, fine man. He was a prince," Barker said in an interview from
Fort Leavenworth, where McHugh had been stationed. "Everything he did with good humor. I
truly never saw him angry . "
James DiOrio, who went to high school and West Point with McHugh, described him as "always
an upbeat optimistic guy with a smile on his face no matter what."
McHugh, a 1982 graduate of James Caldwell High School, was a helicopter pilot, husband and
father of five children, whose youngest is only 5 years old. A couple of months ago, he also
became a grandfather for the first time.
"Truly, next to my husband and father he was the greatest man I ever knew," said Megan
Huber, husband of Ret. Maj. Allen Huber, who knew McHugh for 13 years.
Bradley said he and McHugh met when they were 8-year-old bat boys for their older brothers’
American Legion baseball team. Later they were teammates and McHugh wrote about their
games in the weekly newspaper, "The Progress."
"So many of us have gotten back in touch recently, and we were looking forward to a gettogether," said Bradley , who had re-connected with McHugh via Facebook. "That’s what
makes it especially sad."
McHugh had written on Facebook last Saturday that he was leaving for Afghanistan the next
day.
Staff writer Amy Ellis Nutt contributed to this report.
By Brian Murray/Staff Writer and Nic Corbett/Staff Writer
Colonel John McHugh, former Army goalie, remembered
Jeff Bradley, a sportswriter for ESPN The Magazine and younger brother of U.S. national team coach
Bob Bradley, remembers Colonel John McHugh, who captained the 1985 Army men's soccer team
and was recently killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. Jeff Bradley and McHugh were
teammates on the same American Legion baseball team in New Jersey.
McHugh was a goalie for his high school team that went to the state finals -- New Jersey prep soccer
has been big for decades -- and still loved the position. He had recently attended a goalkeeper
camp. McHugh, who coached girls soccer in Kansas, had recently connected with Bradley, saying how
much he was looking forward to the World Cup. He asked if Jeff needed someone to carry my bags in
South Africa.
Colonel John McHugh was 46.
New Jersey native Army Col. John McHugh among dead in Afghanistan
suicide attack
BY Rich Schapiro DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Thursday, May 20th 2010, 2:47 PM
Col. John M McHugh of West Caldwell, N.J., died in Tuesday's suicide bombing in Kabul.
War in Afghanistan
An Army colonel from New Jersey who dedicated his life to the military was among the five U.S. soldiers
killed in Tuesday's suicide attack in Kabul, officials said Thursday.
Col. John McHugh, a married father of five, died after a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car
into his NATO convoy, killing a total of 18 people.
The death of McHugh, one of the highest-ranking officers to die in Afghanistan since the war began, sent
shockwaves through his hometown of West Caldwell.
"John never had an off day," said his lifelong friend, Kevin Morris, 46. "He was always upbeat, always
positive. That's what I'm going to miss."
McHugh played on the varsity baseball and soccer teams at James Caldwell High School.
After graduating in 1982, he immediately enlisted at West Point - a move that surprised few of his
classmates.
"He excelled in everything he did since kindergarten," said Morris. "He was always a good student. He was
always a good atlete. John was always loyal. John was always hardworking - kind of the prototype of what
you'd expect in a West Point cadet."
McHugh went on to flight school and later served in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm.
The affable helicopter pilot earned a masters degree in administration from American Public University in
2006.
McHugh was then selected to attend the Army's most prestigious academy, the U.S. Army War College in
Pennsylvania, where he received a masters in strategic studies in 2009.
He was serving as the chief of operations with the Battle Command Training Program when he was killed.
"There wasn't a day that I saw him that he didn't have a smile for someone or didn't have a good word to
say," said Col. Steven Boylan, a spokesman for the program, based out of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas."
"He always had time to see how everyone was doing, to make sure they had everything they needed."
McHugh leaves behind two sons - the younger is only 5 years old - and three daughters. He recently
became a grandfather.
His oldest child, Michael, was serving in Iraq when his father was killed. He met his dad's body in Kuwait
and escorted it home, friends said.
Politi: Death of Col. John McHugh
reminds U.S. soccer team who it
plays for in World Cup
By Steve Politi/Star-Ledger Columnist
May 23, 2010, 10:00AM
Army Col. John McHugh would talk about the World Cup often with his fellow soldiers, and
every chance he had, he would make it clear his interest went beyond his love of soccer.
“I know our coach,” he would brag.
He was headed to Afghanistan, but he would find a way to watch the Americans take on the
world. He was headed to war, but that wouldn’t stop the West Caldwell native from cheering
on an old friend.
That coach was standing near the field in Princeton Saturday, talking about the deeply
personal reminder of the responsibility facing his team in 18 days. Bob Bradley received an email with the news before a practice last week, one that stopped the always-moving coach
cold.
Just days after arriving in the war-torn country, McHugh was killed when a suicide bomber
rammed a car filled with a half-ton of explosives into his NATO convoy. Bradley’s friend, a
husband and father of five who had recently become a grandfather, was gone. He was 46.
Bradley has always understood that wearing the Stars-and-Stripes crest meant more than just
winning soccer games, but this loss drove that home. The nation is at war during the World
Cup, and for thousands of soldiers, the games will carry a deeper meaning.
“You want to make sure your team understands that, when it steps on the field, it stands for a
lot of things,” Bradley said. “It stands for people who have come before us and have defended
our country. It stands for the servicemen now who are the type of heroes that make the
United States what it is.”
It stands for John McHugh. Bradley was a few years older growing up in North Caldwell, but
for years in the late ’70s and early ’80s, it seemed like the McHughs and the Bradleys were
always teammates in American Legion baseball or rivals on the Essex County soccer fields.
John McHugh was always goalkeeper or catcher, the positions that let him be the backbone of
the team. Jeff Bradley, the youngest of three brothers who knew McHugh the best,
remembers the way his friend would put down the sign for a pitch during those Post 185
games.
He would drop a finger, then offer a quick fist pump. He wasn’t just calling for a fastball or a
curve, he was delivering a message to the pitcher. You can get this guy.
Once, a Seton Hall pitcher needed a catcher for a tryout and worried that McHugh was too
green to handle the job. “He may have made a better impression on the scouts than I did,”
Michael O’Beirne remembered.
That was McHugh, and everyone who knew him has a story like that. The McHughs were an
All-American family in West Caldwell, and John was always a popular and dependable leader.
No one was the least bit surprised when he decided to go to West Point after high school. He
grew up at a time when everybody had long hair, but always bucked the trend with a crew
cut.
He was a goalkeeper for Army, and after he gave up playing competitively, never lost his love
for the sport. Jeff Bradley, a writer for ESPN The Magazine, reconnected with McHugh a couple
years ago through Facebook and learned that his old friend had followed his brother’s career
closely.
“Hey, if you need somebody to carry your bags,” McHugh, a helicopter pilot, told Jeff Bradley
when he heard he was headed to South Africa for a month, “then I’m your guy.”
McHugh, who had also served in Operation Desert Storm, had a different destination.
“Heading to Afghanistan for a couple of weeks,” he posted on his Facebook page on May 15.
“If my travel doesn’t get whacky I should be back in time for the Indy 500.”
Four days later, he was dead. McHugh is one of the highest-ranking officers to die in
Afghanistan. His oldest son, Michael, who was serving in Iraq with the Army, will be the one
to bring him home.
Bob Bradley will soon have the highest pressure coaching job in the country, without a close
second.
You can argue that Americans hate soccer, and that’s a debate that can rage on for hours. But
everyone can agree on this: Americans definitely hate losing.
Bradley knows even casual fans will watch to see if this World Cup will be special, or if this
U.S. team will falter like so many before it. “Every time we step on the field,” he said, “we try
to show how far the game has come in the United States and make a statement.”
But he also understands the responsibility goes beyond that. The World Cup will unfold with
the world at war, and Bradley will not let his players forget who they are also playing for next
month.
For the servicemen and women, past and present, fighting to protect what the Stars-andStripes crest on their uniform represents. For the soldiers here and abroad, the ones who can
watch and the ones who cannot. For John McHugh.
Steve Politi may be reached at spoliti@starledger.com, or follow him at Twitter.com/NJ_StevePoliti
West Essex mourns Col. McHugh
Mass at St. Al’s, ceremony at Crane Park June 5
Published: May 27th, 10:25 AM
WEST CALDWELL TWP. – A memorial Mass for Col. John Michael McHugh, 46, who was killed in the line
of duty in Afghanistan on Tuesday, May 18, will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 5, at St. Aloysius
Church, 219 Bloomfield Ave., Caldwell.
Immediately following the Mass there will be a memorial recognition ceremony at Crane Park on
Bloomfield Avenue, West Caldwell, at about 12:30 p.m.
Funeral services were to be held at 11 this morning, Thursday, May 27, in Fort Leavenworth, Kan.,
where he is be buried.
West Caldwell Mayor Joseph Tempesta Jr. summed up the West Essex community’s, pain and sense of
loss at losing Col. McHugh.
“On behalf of the community our hearts go out to the McHugh family,” Tempesta said. “Col. John
McHugh represented the best our community had to offer.
“He was an great all-American kid from a great all-American family,” he said.
Mayor Tempesta continued with a reminder of Col. McHugh’s motivation in serving.
“Our hearts bleed for his wife, Connie, and his five children,” he said. “It’s incumbent upon us to
remember that he died doing what he loved doing; representing us, defending our nation and
defending what he believed in.
McHugh, who was a native of West Caldwell and a West Point graduate, died from injuries suffered in a
car bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, while serving in the U.S. Army. He was one of the highestranking officers to be killed in Afghanistan since the conflict began in 2001. He was one of five U.S.
soldiers and one Canadian officer who died in the suicide attack, along with more than a dozen Afghan
civilians.
McHugh, who attended St. Aloysius Grammar School and was a 1982 graduate of James Caldwell High
School, was the father of five and had just become a grandfather. His son, Michael, is serving in Iraq.
He was the son of James and Mary Ann McHugh of West Caldwell; the husband of Connie Jensen
McHugh; and the father of five children ranging in age from 22 to 6, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Michael
McHugh, U.S. Army, and his wife Angela, and Kelly Rose, Kristen, Maggie and David; and the
grandfather of Abigail Lynn. He also leaves behind his sister, Mary Kate Edwards and his brothers,
James and Frank McHugh.
An avid sportsman while at James Caldwell High School, McHugh played soccer and baseball and at
West Point he was goalkeeper for the Army Soccer Team.
John McHugh graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1986 and was assigned to the
U.S. Army Battle Command Training Program at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. He had been deployed to
Afghanistan just a few days before his death.
He served in the first Gulf War in 1990 and, during 24 years of service, at numerous bases throughout
the United States and overseas, most recently 15 months at Udairi Army Airfield in Kuwait.
He was the recipient of numerous awards and decorations, including the Legion of Merit Award, the
Purple Heart, and two Bronze Stars.
McHugh: A Man of Service, Faith and
Family
Army colonel and JCHS grad remembered fondly, local memorial service planned.
By Nate Schweber | Email the author | May 27, 2010
He spent the first part of his life in West Caldwell on diamonds, protecting home plate from base
runners and on fields keeping his team's net safe from soccer balls.
In the next phase of his life he defended his country, flying helicopters for the U.S. Army and
eventually traveling to Afghanistan where he was killed by a roadside bomb last Tuesday.
John McHugh with his granddaughter, Abigail, who was born earlier this spring.
Bidding farewell to one of Fort Leavenworth's own May 27, 2010
Military and civilians gathered Thursday at Fort Leavenworth to pay final respects to Army Col. John M.
McHugh, who was killed May 18 in Afghanistan.
People stand at Grant and Pope avenues during the processional of Army Col. John M. McHugh, who was killed May
18 in Afghanistan. From left, Philip Ormond, Dale Ormond, deputy to the commanding general at Fort Leavenworth's
U.S. Army Combined Arms Center, an unidentified woman. Caroline Ormond, Helen Pompelia, Helen Ormond, Anna
Ormond, Rachel Ormond, Sarah Ormond, Charlotte Ormond and Col. Dominic Pompelia, chief of staff for the
Combined Arms Center.
Photo by Shawn Linenberger
People in attendance for Thursday's processional hold a flag along Grant Avenue at Fort Leavenworth.
Photo by Shawn Linenberger
Patriot Guard members are lined up at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery.
Photo by Shawn Linenberger
Military personnel line stand at attention Thursday along Pope Avenue as Patriot Guard riders proceed along
the processional route.
Photo by Shawn Linenberger
Patriot Guard members hold a sign for a photographer.
Before soccer, Bradley discusses death of friend
Posted Wednesday, May. 19, 2010 By RONALD BLUM AP Sports Writer
PRINCETON, N.J. — Before talking about his soccer team and the World Cup, U.S. coach Bob Bradley
wanted to discuss the death of a family friend since childhood and point out what it means to travel
representing the country.
Army Col. John McHugh, who had known the three Bradley brothers since their youth in New Jersey, was
killed this week by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, the coach said at the start of his news conference
Wednesday.
The 46-year-old, a 1986 West Point graduate, was stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and wrote on
Facebook last Saturday that he was leaving for Afghanistan the following day.
"As we go through this whole lead-in, we keep trying to find ways with our group to not only talk about
soccer but talk about how special it is to play for your national team, how special it is to represent your
country," Bob Bradley said. "And things like this absolutely bring it to light."
McHugh, a former West Point goalkeeper, played American Legion baseball against Jeff Bradley, a senior
writer for ESPN The Magazine. He also played youth sports against Scott Bradley, a former major league
catcher and outfielder.
Bob Bradley said McHugh, who is survived by a wife, three sons, two daughters and a grandchild, had
recently taken a U.S. Soccer goalkeeper course "to keep himself sharp and active."
"You hear news like that and when you think what it means to represent your country, you think about
obviously how important the soccer is, but how it's not even close to what it means to be somewhere else in
the world defending everything," Bob Bradley said.
The Associated Press reported from Afghanistan that a suicide bomber struck a U.S. convoy in Kabul,
killing 18 people, including five American troops and a Canadian.
Army spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Garver said Wednesday information on this week's casualties had not
yet been released.
"He was a catcher in baseball ... a goalkeeper in soccer. He was a born leader," Jeff Bradley wrote on his
website.
Flags line a road at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery. Minutes later, a processional took place for Col. John M.
McHugh. Photo by Shawn Linenberger
Photo by Shawn Linenberger
Jim Timmons, ceremonial honor bugler with American Legion Post 23 of Leavenworth, plays "Taps" during
services for Army Col. John M. McHugh, who was killed May 18 near Kabul, Afghanistan.
Photo by Shawn Linenberger
People stand along Pope Avenue hold American flags as they wait for the processional for Army Col. John
M. McHugh, who was killed May 18 in Afghanistan.
Photo by Shawn Linenberger
From left, Kansas City Royals catcher Brayan Pena, Army Chief Warrant Officer Michael McHugh and his
sisters Kelly and Kristen leave the pitcher's mound at Kauffman Stadium after Michael threw the first pitch
Tuesday before the Kansas City-Texas game to honor their father, Col. John McHugh. Col. McHugh died
May 18 in Kabul, Afghanistan from wounds suffered from a car bomb explosion. McHugh, assigned to the
Battle Command Training Program at Fort Leavenworth, was deployed on a NATO mission. Michael is
home on leave from a deployment in Iraq where he serves as a medical evacuation pilot. His unit with the
1st Combat Aviation Brigade is based out of Fort Riley.
Spc. Stanley J. Sokolowski, III
U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release
On the Web:
Public contact:
http://www.defense.gov/Releases/Release.aspx?ReleaseID=13558
http://www.defense.gov/landing/comment.aspx
Media contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132
or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 429-10
May 24, 2010
DOD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi
Freedom.
Spc. Stanley J. Sokolowski, III, 26, of Ocean, N.J. died May 20 in Kirkuk, Iraq, in a non-combat related
incident. He was assigned to Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.
For more information, the media may contact the Fort Bliss public affairs office at 915-568-4505.
Spc. Stanley J. Sokolowski III
EL PASO -- A Fort Bliss soldier died in Iraq in a noncombat-related incident, the Department of Defense said Monday.
Spc. Stanley J. Sokolowski III, 26, of Ocean, N.J., died May 20 in Kirkuk, Iraq. Sokolowski was assigned to Special
Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss.
Published in El Paso Times on May 24, 2010
Military news, Monmouth County »
Ocean Township soldier dies in Iraq
By Bob Considine/The Star-Ledger
May 25, 2010, 1:24PM
OCEAN — Spc. Stanley J. Sokolowski of Ocean Township has died of injuries from a noncombat related incident in Kirkuk, Iraq, the Department of Defense has announced.
Sokolowski, 26, was assigned to Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division,
Fort Bliss, Texas. From her township home, Christie Sokolowski recalled her son as a
“humanitarian and someone who always fought for justice.”
“He trusted everybody,” Sokolowski said this morning. “He took everybody at their word. He
was just a great kid.”
Sokolowski graduated Ocean Township High School in 2002. He had volunteered for different
fire and first aid squads in Long Branch, West Long Branch and Oakhurst. He also worked as a
lifeguard in different area pools and briefly at the Red Bank Animal Hospital.
Christie Sokolowski said her son joined the military in August, 2007 to better his chances of
becoming a full-time firefighter upon completion of his duties. He was in the midst of his
second tour in Iraq, scheduled to return in November.
The Pentagon statement gave no information of the nature of the incident that led to
Sokolowski’s death. His mother declined to comment on the cause of death.
Surviving are his mother and father, Stanley Sokolowski II, and two brothers, Todd Gregory
of Ocean Township and Kyle Sokolowski of Florida.
NJ soldier killed in Iraq
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY MAY 25, 2010, 12:21 PM
BY MARLENE NAANES
NORTHJERSEY.COM
STAFF WRITER
A New Jersey man died in a non-combat incident in Kirkuk, Iraq, on May 20, according to the
Department of Defense.
Spc. Stanley J. Sokolowski III, 26, of Ocean, N.J., was assigned to Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade,
1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.
The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation, the Defense Department said in a
statement.
Sokolowski came from a good family and was full of life, said Ocean Township School Superintendent
Thomas Pagano, who was principal of Wayside Elementary when Sokolowski attended.
"He was a nice little boy, full of life, mischievous on occasion, as all elementary boys will be," Pagano
said. "I see he was 26-years-old, and it seems like a week ago he was just a little kindergartener. I’m
hopeful he had a happy life as brief as it may be."
Pagano said Sokolowski is the second former Ocean Township student to die in Iraq. Marine Sgt. Alan
Sherman's name is on a memorial in front of the high school.
"We have one name on it now," Pagano said. "It looks like we’ll have another…Our hearts and our
prayers go out to his family."
Sokolowski is survived by his parents. A remembrance ceremony in his honor will be announced at a
later date.
Maj. James M. Weis
Hometown: Toms River, New Jersey, U.S.
Age: 37 years old
Died: July 22, 2010 in Operation Enduring Freedom.
Unit: Marines, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force,
based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Incident: Died while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release
On the Web:
Public contact:
http://www.defense.gov/Releases/Release.aspx?ReleaseID=13748
http://www.defense.gov/landing/comment.aspx
Media contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132
or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 660-10
July 26, 2010
DOD Identifies Marine Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two Marines who were supporting Operation
Enduring Freedom.
The following Marines died July 22 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
Lt. Col. Mario D. Carazo, 41, of Springfield, Ohio.
Maj. James M. Weis, 37, of Toms River, N.J.
Carazo and Weis were assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine
Expeditionary Force, based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.
For additional background information on these Marines, news media representatives may contact the 3rd
Marine Aircraft Wing public affairs office at 858-577-6000.
U.S. Marine from Toms River is killed in Afghanistan
Published: Monday, July 26, 2010, 4:53 PM
Steve Strunsky/The Star-Ledger
Updated: Monday, July 26, 2010, 4:55 PM
AFGHANISTAN — A 37-year-old Toms River man was one of two U.S. Marines reported killed
last week in Afghanistan.
Maj. James M. Weis, a helicopter pilot and highly decorated 15-year Marine Corps veteran,
was supporting combat operations in Helmand Province, when he and another Marine officer
were killed on July 22, the Pentagon reported.
Lt. Col. Mario D. Carazo, 41, of Springfield, Ohio, was also reported killed.
Weis and Carazo were assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I
Marine Expeditionary Force, based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Weis joined the Marines on Dec. 5, 1994, and commissioned as an officer 15 months later, on
March 23, 1996, said Cpl. Michael Stevens, a Marine Corps spokesman. Weiss flew Cobra AH1 attack helicopters.
His commendations included the Meritorious Service Medal, an Afghanistan Campaign and
four Iraq Campaign Medals, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the
Humanitarian Service Medal, and a Presidential Unit Citation-Navy, among others.
3rd MAW Marines killed in Helmand province
Staff report
Posted : Monday Jul 26, 2010 17:08:18 EDT
3rd MAW Marines You have been s
http://w w w .marin
Two aviation Marines were killed last Thursday in Helmand province, Afghanistan, the Defense Department
announced Monday.
Lt. Col. Mario D. Carazo, 41, of Springfield, Ohio, and Maj. James M. Weis, 37, of Toms River, N.J., were
both assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Further details were not released; however a helicopter crash occurred that day near Lashkar Gah,
Helmand's provincial capital.
The Associated Press reported that Weis joined the Corps in 1994 and had served in Iraq. Carazo joined
the Corps in 1987 and was awarded the Bronze Star, AP reported.
Maj James M. Weis
July 26th, 2010
Born: in Eatontown, New Jersey
Died: July 22, 2010 in Helmand, Afghanistan
Maj. James M. Weis of Toms River, New Jersey is a graduate of Toms River North High School.
He then attended Rutgers University where he discovered his love of flying. Known by many
as Matthew, he joined the Marines on December 5, 1994, and commissioned as an officer 15
months later, on March 23, 1996. He flew Cobra AH-1 attack helicopters. His family has other
military ties. His father is an Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War and his brother is a Marine
Corps artillery officer. Matthew was hoping to be promoted to lieutenant colonel and become a
commanding officer after returning from his most recent deployment. His Awards and
Decorations include, the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medal,
Combat Action Ribbon, Air Medal (Individual Action), Navy-Marine Corps Achievement Medal,
Air Medal (Strike/Flight), Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Sea Service
Deployment Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism
Expeditionary Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Navy Unit
Commendation, Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation and Presidential Unit Citation-Navy.
Matthew leaves his wife, Mae, his two sons, his mother, Anne, his father, Paul, his brother,
William among others. He died at age 37 while supporting combat operations in Helmand
province, Afghanistan.
Marines
Marine Aircraft Group 39
3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
I Marine Expeditionary Force
Camp Pendleton, California
Lt. Col Mario Carazo, Maj. James M. Weis killed in combat
Monday, July 26th, 2010.
Issue 30, Volume 14.
SAN DIEGO - The Pentagon released the names today of two Camp Pendleton-based Marines
killed in combat last week in Afghanistan.
Lt. Col. Mario D. Carazo, 41, of Springfield, Ohio, and Maj. James M. Weis, 37, of Toms
River, N.J., were killed Thursday, July 22, 2010 in Helmand Province, according to the
Department of Defense.
They were members of Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine
Expeditionary Force.
Governor Schwarzenegger issued a statement today upon hearing
news.
"The deaths of Lieutenant Colonel Mario Carazo and Major James Weis are tragic losses for
this country. They devoted themselves to serving our nation with honor and integrity, and
their selfless sacrifices will never be forgotten. On behalf of all Californians, Maria and I
extend our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of these brave Marines."
In honor of Lt. Col. Carazo and Maj. Weis, Capitol flags will be flown at half-staff.
Slain Toms River Marine Maj. James M. Weis' body headed
home
BY ZACH PATBERG • STAFF WRITER • JULY 27, 2010
TOMS RIVER — As the Marine Corps prepares to transport Maj. James M. Weis' body to California this week to be
buried near where his wife and two children live, his mother is finding solace in knowing he died a hero.
Anne Weis said her son loved the Marines and understood the risks involved in fighting for his country.
"He knew what his job was, he signed up for it and he did it with the best of his ability," she said from her home in
Homestead, Fla. "He's in better hands now, and I don't have to worry about him anymore."
Weis, 37, a Toms River native and decorated Marine pilot, was killed July 22 during combat operations in
Afghanistan's Helmand province, a dangerous Taliban stronghold. He was providing air support for troops surrounded
on the ground when his Cobra helicopter was hit by four surface-to-air missiles, Anne Weis said military officials told
her. Marine Lt. Col. Mario D. Carazo, 41, of Springfield, Ohio, also died in the crash.
Weis was hoping to be promoted to lieutenant colonel and become a commanding officer after returning from his most
recent deployment, according to a Marine who served with him.
His mother said Weis' older brother, William Scott Weis, also a major in the Marines, is in Dover, Del., site of the U.S.
military mortuary, preparing to escort Weis' body to California, possibly by today. While James Weis, his wife, Mae,
and his two young sons lived in Oceanside, Calif., his family is considering burying him near a San Diego harbor
where Navy ships come into port, according to his mother. The funeral likely will be Monday, she said.
Weis' wife and brother could not be reached Tuesday.
Weis, often called by his middle name, Matthew, was born in Eatontown but grew up in Toms River, where he
graduated from Toms River North. Anne Weis, who moved to Florida several years ago, said her son fell in love with
flying while in college at Rutgers University. He joined the Marines in 1994 and was commissioned as an officer in
1996.
Weis was part of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He was on his third tour of duty when he was killed.
Zach Patberg: zpatberg@app.com
3rd MAW helo pilots killed in Helmand province
Staff report
Two Marine helicopter pilots were killed last Thursday during combat operations in Afghanistan’s
Helmand province, the Defense Department announced Monday.
Lt. Col. Mario D. Carazo, 41, of Springfield, Ohio, and Maj. James M. Weis, 37, of Toms River,
N.J., were AH-1W Super Cobra pilots assigned to Marine Light-Attack Helicopter Squadron 369,
said Maj. Jay Delarosa, a wing spokesman at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego. The
squadron is part of Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and is based out of Camp
Pendleton, Calif.
Military officials have not released details about the incident or said what brought down the
helicopter. “The incident occurred as they were engaging in combat,” Delarosa said.
NATO officials that day reported that two service members were killed in a helicopter crash near
Lashkar Gah, Helmand’s provincial capital, and the crash was under investigation.
Carazo, who was commissioned in 1991, deployed to Iraq in 2006 and 2008, Delarosa said. His
military awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Bronze Star Medal, NavyMarine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy-Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Sea Service
Deployment Ribbon, Iraq Campaign Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on
Terrorism Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, National Defense Service
Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Navy Unit Commendation, Joint Meritorious Unit
Award, Philippine Presidential Unit Citation and Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation.
Weis was commissioned in 1996 and deployed to Iraq from 2005-06. His awards and decorations
include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Combat Action
Ribbon, Air Medal (Individual Action), Navy-Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Air Medal
(Strike/Flight), Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Sea Service Deployment
Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal,
Humanitarian Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Navy Unit Commendation, Navy
Meritorious Unit Commendation and Presidential Unit Citation-Navy.
‘He’s in better hands now,’ mom says
By Zach Patberg
Asbury Park (N.J.) Press
TOMS RIVER, N.J. — As the Marine Corps prepares to transport Maj. James M. Weis’ body to
California this week to be buried near where his wife and two children live, his mother is finding
solace in knowing he died a hero.
Anne Weis said her son loved the Marines and understood the risks involved in fighting for his
country.
“He knew what his job was, he signed up for it and he did it with the best of his ability,” she said
from her home in Homestead, Fla. “He’s in better hands now, and I don’t have to worry about him
anymore.”
Weis, 37, a Toms River native and decorated Marine pilot, was killed July 22 during combat
operations in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. He was providing air support for troops surrounded
on the ground when his Cobra helicopter was hit by four surface-to-air missiles, Anne Weis said
military officials told her. Marine Lt. Col. Mario D. Carazo, 41, of Springfield, Ohio, also died in the
crash.
Weis was hoping to be promoted to lieutenant colonel and become a commanding officer after
returning from his most recent deployment, according to a Marine who served with him.
His mother said Weis’ older brother, William Scott Weis, also a major in the Marines, is in Dover,
Del., site of the U.S. military mortuary, preparing to escort Weis’ body to California. While James
Weis, his wife, Mae, and his two young sons lived in Oceanside, Calif., his family is considering
burying him near a San Diego harbor where Navy ships come into port, according to his mother.
The funeral likely will be Aug. 2, she said.
Weis, often called by his middle name, Matthew, was born in Eatontown but grew up in Toms
River, where he graduated from Toms River North. Anne Weis, who moved to Florida several
years ago, said her son fell in love with flying while in college at Rutgers University. He joined the
Marines in 1994 and was commissioned as an officer in 1996.
Weis was part of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He was on his third tour of duty when he was killed.
Maj. James M. Weis
Maj. James M. Weis, 37, of Toms River, N.J died July 22 while supporting combat operations in
Helmand province, Afghanistan. Weis was assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft
Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Anne Weis said her son loved the Marines and understood the risks involved in fighting for his
country. "He knew what his job was, he signed up for it and he did it with the best of his ability,'' she
said from her home in Homestead, Fla. "He's in better hands now and I don't have to worry about
him anymore.'' Maj. Weis, 37, a Toms River native and decorated Marine pilot, was killed July 22
during combat operations in Afghanistan's Helmand province, a dangerous Taliban stronghold. He
was called in to provide air support for troops surrounded on the ground when his Cobra helicopter
was hit by four surface-to-air missiles, Ann Weis said of what the military told her Weis was hoping to
be promoted to lieutenant colonel and become a commanding officer after returning from his most
recent deployment, according to a Marine who served with him. His mother said Weis' older brother,
William Scott Weis, also a Marine major, is in Dover, Del. preparing to escort the body to California,
possibly by Wednesday. While James Weis, his wife, Mae, and his two young sons lived in Oceanside,
Ca., his family is considering burying him near a San Diego harbor overlooking where the Navy ships
come in, according to his mother.
The funeral will likely be on Monday, she said. Weis' wife and brother could not be reached. Weis,
often known by his middle name, Matthew, was born in Eatontown but grew up in Toms River, where
he graduated from Toms River North. Anne Weis, who moved to Florida several years ago, said her
son fell in love with flying while in college at Rutgers University. He joined the Marines in 1994 and
was commissioned as an officer in 1996. Weis was part of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He was on his
third tour when he was killed.
Spec. Jamal M. Rhett
Hometown: Palmyra, New Jersey, U.S.
Age: 24 years old
Died: August 15, 2010 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Unit: Army, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division,
Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
Incident: Died in Ba Qubah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with
grenades.
U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release
On the Web:
Public contact:
http://www.defense.gov/Releases/Release.aspx?ReleaseID=13801
http://www.defense.gov/landing/comment.aspx
Media contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132
or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 732-10
August 17, 2010
DOD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi
Freedom.
Spc. Jamal M. Rhett, 24, of Palmyra, N.J., died Aug. 15 in Ba Qubah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when
insurgents attacked his vehicle with grenades. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd
Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
For more information, the media may contact the 25th Infantry Division public affairs office at 808-655-6341.
N.J. soldier killed in Iraq
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY AUGUST 17, 2010, 2:07 PM
BY MATT FRIEDMAN
STATE HOUSE BUREAU
STATE HOUSE BUREAU
A soldier from New Jersey was killed in Iraq Sunday after insurgents attacked his vehicle with
grenades.
The body of Specialist Jamal Rhett, 24, of Palmyra, was flown into Dover Air Force Base in Delaware
today, where it was met by members of his family.
Rhett was a combat medic who aspired to be a doctor. He enlisted in the Army after one year of college
because he wanted help paying for college and medical school, said his aunt, Sonya Winters.
“He wanted to go into the medical field and he found out, looking through everything, that it would be
costly to him as far as schooling was concerned. So he decided to join the service,” said Winters.
Winters said Rhett was on his second tour in Iraq, and that he preferred not to share his experiences
there with his family.
“When he first came home, he told us that there were some things that he couldn’t talk to us about and
he’d appreciate if we didn’t ask him questions about it,” said Winters. “He did at one point tell us there
were some things over there that he’d seen that he never wanted to see in his life.”
Rhett moved to Palmyra from Philadelphia with his mother at age 11. He graduated from Burlington
County Institute of Technology in 2003 and enrolled in Bloomfield College for one year before
enlisting.
Hawaii-Based Soldier Killed In Iraq
Insurgents Attacked Vehicle Of Spc. Jamal Rhett
HONOLULU, Hawaii -- A Hawaii-based soldier was killed Sunday in Iraq when
insurgents attacked his vehicle with grenades, the Department of Defense said.
Spc. Jamal M. Rhett, 24, of Palmyra, N.J., died in Ba Qubah, the department said.
He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th
Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks in Hawaii.
U.S. Army Spc. Jamal Rhett, 24, was killed while serving under Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Aug 17, 2010 6:54 am US/Eastern
New Jersey Soldier Killed In Iraq
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
Family and friends are mourning the loss of a New Jersey soldier who lost his life while serving in Iraq.
U.S. Army Spc. Jamal Rhett, 24, was killed while serving under Operation Iraqi Freedom. The date of
Rhett's death was not immediately known.
According to a family member, they believe Rhett was in a striker when they apparently went over a mine.
Rhett was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq.
The family member told Eyewitness News that Rhett spent most of his life growing up in Philadelphia, but
most recently lived in Palmyra, New Jersey.
Rhett's body is scheduled to be returned to Dover Air Force Base on Tuesday morning.
Spec. Jamal Rhett, 24; killed in Iraq
By Edward Colimore
Inquirer Staff Writer
Michelle Watson saw the Army officers heading up the walkway toward her Palmyra home on Sunday
and knew immediately.
"I said, 'No, no, no, no!' " Watson recalled. "I was hysterical."
She phoned her sister, Sonya Winters of Philadelphia, and said, " 'I'm not letting them in!' She was
hollering and screaming," Winters said.
Watson's son, Army Spec. Jamal Rhett, 24, a combat medic, had been killed hours earlier in Ba Qubah,
Iraq, after insurgents attacked his vehicle with grenades, according to the Defense Department.
"Bear with me. I've got to get myself together," Watson remembered telling the officers.
Rhett, a former Philadelphia resident who communicated with his family faithfully by phone and
Facebook, came home Tuesday, about two months into his second deployment.
MICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer
Heads are bowed in prayer at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware Tuesday as Spec. Jamal Rhett's coffin awaits the
journey home to New Jersey.
Schofield soldier dies after Iraq grenade attack
By Star-Advertiser staff
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Aug 18, 2010
A 25th Infantry Division combat medic died Sunday in Iraq of wounds he suffered when insurgents
attacked his Stryker combat vehicle with grenades.
With the latest death, two Schofield Barracks soldiers have been killed in Diyala province in less than a
month's time. Violence has spiked in Iraq with a stalemate in Iraq's government leadership and as the
U.S. continues a troop drawdown.
The Pentagon said Spc. Jamal M. Rhett, 24, of Palmyra, N.J., was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 21st
Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team. He died in Baqubah, northeast of Baghdad.
A
out 3,800 Schofield Barracks soldiers with the Hawaii Stryker Brigade deployed to northern Iraq in late
June. About 60,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, down from a high of about 170,000. The U.S. plans to
lower its troop total to 50,000 by Sept. 1.
Schofield soldier 1st Lt. Michael L. Runyan, 24, of Newark, Ohio, died July 21 after his convoy was hit
by a roadside bomb in Muqdadiyah.
Family members told the Burlington County Times in New Jersey that Rhett moved to Palmyra with his
mother, Michelle Watson, at age 11, and he attended local schools before transferring to the Burlington
County Institute of Technology. He graduated from the school in 2003 and spent a year at Bloomfield
College before enlisting in the Army.
His aunt, Sonya Winters, described Rhett as a funny and loving nephew who kept in close contact with
his extended family via phone and the social network Facebook. She said she last spoke to him
Thursday.
"I was speaking to him about a party I was throwing for my 19-year-old, who is going off to college. He
congratulated me and told me to give his best to everyone," she said. "Like always, he told me he had
to get some sleep, but he said he loved us and would talk to us later."
Winters told the New Jersey Star-Ledger that Rhett wanted to be a doctor and joined the Army after a
year of college because he wanted financial help paying for college and medical school.
His body arrived yesterday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team
is serving its third tour in Iraq. The U.S. plans to withdraw completely from Iraq by the end of 2011.
A 25th Infantry Division combat medic died Sunday in Iraq of wounds he suffered when
insurgents attacked his Stryker combat vehicle with grenades.
With the latest death, two Schofield Barracks soldiers have been killed in Diyala province in
less than a month's time. Violence has spiked in Iraq with a stalemate in Iraq's government
leadership and as the U.S. continues a troop drawdown.
The Pentagon said Spc. Jamal M. Rhett, 24, of Palmyra, N.J., was assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team. He died in Baqubah, northeast
of Baghdad.
About 3,800 Schofield Barracks soldiers with the Hawaii Stryker Brigade
deployed to northern Iraq in late June. About 60,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, down from a
high of about 170,000. The U.S. plans to lower its troop total to 50,000 by Sept. 1.
Schofield soldier 1st Lt. Michael L. Runyan, 24, of Newark, Ohio, died July 21 after his convoy
was hit by a roadside bomb in Muqdadiyah.
Family members told the Burlington County Times in New Jersey that Rhett moved to Palmyra
with his mother, Michelle Watson, at age 11, and he attended local schools before transferring
to the Burlington County Institute of Technology. He graduated from the school in 2003 and
spent a year at Bloomfield College before enlisting in the Army.
His aunt, Sonya Winters, described Rhett as a funny and loving nephew who kept in close
contact with his extended family via phone and the social network Facebook. She said she last
spoke to him Thursday.
"I was speaking to him about a party I was throwing for my 19-year-old, who is going off to
college. He congratulated me and told me to give his best to everyone," she said. "Like
always, he told me he had to get some sleep, but he said he loved us and would talk to us
later."
Winters told the New Jersey Star-Ledger that Rhett wanted to be a doctor and joined the
Army after a year of college because he wanted financial help paying for college and medical
school.
His body arrived yesterday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The 2nd Stryker Brigade
Combat Team is serving its third tour in Iraq. The U.S. plans to withdraw completely from
Iraq by the end of 2011.
Palmyra man killed in Iraq
TEXT SIZE
By: DAVID LEVINSKY
Burlington County Times
Army Spc. Jamal Rhett was serving his second tour of duty as a combat medic.
dlevinsky@phillyBurbs.com
609-871-8154
PALMYRA - A soldier from Palmyra was killed during an insurgent grenade attack on his vehicle in Iraq.
The body of 24-year-old Army Spc. Jamal M. Rhett arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on
Tuesday, where the plane was met by his mother and other family members.
He is believed to be the 14th person from Burlington County or with county ties to die in Iraq or Afghanistan
since those conflicts began.
"He was my knight in shining armor," his mother, Michelle Watson, said Tuesday after arriving home from
Dover. "I not only loved him as a son, but I liked him. We had such a wonderful relationship as a mother and
son."
The U.S. Department of Defense did not specify when or where in Iraq the attack occurred but said Rhett
died Sunday. He was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq as a combat medic with 25th Infantry Division
based out of Schofield Barracks in Hawaii.
Division spokesman Lt. Col. Sean Wilson said Rhett's unit deployed to Iraq in early July and the attack
occurred near the city Baquba, which is located northeast of Baghdad.
Rhett was believed to be the only casualty from the attack.
"He was a valued soldier. The 25th is a small one in a lot of ways so this loss affects all of us," Wilson said.
"He might not have had family here (in Hawaii) but we were like family. His death is like losing a brother."
Family members said Rhett originally lived in Philadelphia but moved to Palmyra with his mother at age 11.
He attended borough schools and went to the Burlington County Institute of Technology's Westampton
Campus for high school, graduating in 2003. He attended Bloomfield College before enlisting in the Army.
Officials at BCIT and Bloomfield said they were saddened to learn of Rhett's death.
"Westampton's principal was this young man's social studies teacher and remembered him as a very
respectful young man," said BCIT Superintendent Dolores Szymanski. "It's so sad because here we are
soon to pull out (of Iraq) and he gets caught in the end. It's sad for our entire community."
Bloomfield College spokeswoman Jill Alexander said the college planned to fly its flag at half staff for the
next several days in Rhett's honor.
"We want to remember him and honor his family and his sacrifice," Alexander said.
Watson said her son decided to enlist in the Army after his maternal grandmother's death. She said the two
were very close and she suspected he wanted to honor her by joining the service.
She said her last conversation with Rhett involved he prospects of earning a promotion to sergeant soon.
"He was excited about it," Watson said. "He told me he went before the (review) board and things went well
and that all he had to do was take a few more correspondent courses and he'd become a sergeant. It was
great news."
Rhett's aunt, Sonya Winters, described him as a funny and loving nephew who kept in close contact with his
mother and family via phone and Facebook.
She said he preferred not to talk about the war.
"He told me once that he had seen something he never wanted to see again, but he didn't go into details,"
Winters said. "He thought he was going back to Hawaii but they ordered him back (to Iraq)."
She said her last words to him were Thursday after they talked about a party she was planning for his 19year-old cousin before he went off to college.
"He congratulated me and told me to give his best to everyone," she said. "Like always, he told me he had
to get some sleep, but he said he loved us and would talk to us later."
Watson was informed of her son's death Sunday afternoon. She said the trip to Dover was emotional but
that she was glad she went.
"There's a feeling of honor and glory even," she said.
Funeral arrangements were still pending Tuesday. Winters said her family was trying to cope with the loss
as best as possible.
"We're just trying to support each other," Winters said. "He was a real great guy who kept you laughing, and
he loved his family."
Palmyra Mayor Bob Gural said Rhett was believed to be the first Palmyra resident to die in the recent
overseas conflicts.
"We've had many fine young men who served, but this is the first casualty," he said. "I didn't know him
personally, but I understand he was a gentleman. It's hard to take."
He said the borough would pursue some type of formal action to honor Rhett's service and sacrifice.
August 18, 2010 01:30 AM
LATEST NEWS
August 19th, 2010 5:43 PM
Palmyra man killed in Iraq
Army Spc. Jamal Rhett was serving his second tour of duty as a combat medic.
Deceased Army Spc. Jamal Rhett
By David Levinsky / Burlington County Times
PALMYRA, NJ - A soldier from Palmyra was killed during an insurgent grenade attack on his vehicle in Iraq.
The body of 24-year-old Army Spc. Jamal M. Rhett arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on
Tuesday, where the plane was met by his mother and other family members.
He is believed to be the 14th person from Burlington County or with county ties to die in Iraq or Afghanistan
since those conflicts began.
"He was my knight in shining armor," his mother, Michelle Watson, said Tuesday after arriving home from
Dover. "I not only loved him as a son, but I liked him. We had such a wonderful relationship as a mother and
son."
The U.S. Department of Defense did not specify when or where in Iraq the attack occurred but said Rhett
died Sunday. He was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq as a combat medic with 25th Infantry Division
based out of Schofield Barracks in Hawaii.
Division spokesman Lt. Col. Sean Wilson said Rhett's unit deployed to Iraq in early July and the attack
occurred near the city Baquba, which is located northeast of Baghdad.
Rhett was believed to be the only casualty from the attack.
"He was a valued soldier. The 25th is a small one in a lot of ways so this loss affects all of us," Wilson said.
"He might not have had family here (in Hawaii) but we were like family. His death is like losing a brother."
Family members said Rhett originally lived in Philadelphia but moved to Palmyra with his mother at age 11.
He attended borough schools and went to the Burlington County Institute of Technology's Westampton
Campus for high school, graduating in 2003. He attended Bloomfield College before enlisting in the Army.
Officials at BCIT and Bloomfield said they were saddened to learn of Rhett's death.
"Westampton's principal was this young man's social studies teacher and remembered him as a very
respectful young man," said BCIT Superintendent Dolores Szymanski. "It's so sad because here we are
soon to pull out (of Iraq) and he gets caught in the end. It's sad for our entire community."
Bloomfield College spokeswoman Jill Alexander said the college planned to fly its flag at half staff for the
next several days in Rhett's honor.
"We want to remember him and honor his family and his sacrifice," Alexander said.
Watson said her son decided to enlist in the Army after his maternal grandmother's death. She said the two
were very close and she suspected he wanted to honor her by joining the service.
She said her last conversation with Rhett involved he prospects of earning a promotion to sergeant soon.
"He was excited about it," Watson said. "He told me he went before the (review) board and things went well
and that all he had to do was take a few more correspondent courses and he'd become a sergeant. It was
great news."
Rhett's aunt, Sonya Winters, described him as a funny and loving nephew who kept in close contact with his
mother and family via phone and Facebook.
She said he preferred not to talk about the war.
"He told me once that he had seen something he never wanted to see again, but he didn't go into details,"
Winters said. "He thought he was going back to Hawaii but they ordered him back (to Iraq)."
She said her last words to him were Thursday after they talked about a party she was planning for his 19year-old cousin before he went off to college.
"He congratulated me and told me to give his best to everyone," she said. "Like always, he told me he had
to get some sleep, but he said he loved us and would talk to us later."
Watson was informed of her son's death Sunday afternoon. She said the trip to Dover was emotional but
that she was glad she went.
"There's a feeling of honor and glory even," she said.
Funeral arrangements were still pending Tuesday. Winters said her family was trying to cope with the loss
as best as possible.
"We're just trying to support each other," Winters said. "He was a real great guy who kept you laughing, and
he loved his family."
Palmyra Mayor Bob Gural said Rhett was believed to be the first Palmyra resident to die in the recent
overseas conflicts.
"We've had many fine young men who served, but this is the first casualty," he said. "I didn't know him
personally, but I understand he was a gentleman. It's hard to take."
He said the borough would pursue some type of formal action to honor Rhett's service and sacrifice.
Body of Palmyra serviceman arriving from Iraq
By Robert Moran
Inquirer Staff Writer
The body of an Army specialist from Palmyra who died in Iraq is scheduled to arrive Tuesday at Dover
Air Force Base, military officials said.
Jamal M. Rhett, 24, died while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. As of Monday night, the Department
of Defense had not released information about how or when Rhett died.
"I'm still in a state of shock, so this is very hard for me," said Natalie Prospere, 25, a friend who
attended Bloomfield College near Newark with Rhett. "All I can say is that Jamal was one of the
funniest people I know. He loved to make us all laugh."
She added, "I know that he loved his mother very much, and he was a loyal friend. He made it his
business to call and check in with us often, to let us know that he was OK, and to make sure that we
were."
Prospere, who now lives in Los Angeles, was reached through Facebook, where she was listed among
Rhett's 190 friends on the social-networking site.
Rhett posted frequent updates on Facebook. His last was on Aug. 12, when he reported: "I just got my
tooth fixed." He had been complaining about a toothache for several days.
On Aug. 4, he announced he had been recommended for promotion to sergeant.
On June 29, he wrote about going back to Iraq for a second tour: "I just pray and ask god for strength
and keep me safe. I ask that ppl [people] continue to pray for me."
Spc. Pedro A. Millet Meletiche
U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release
On the Web:
Public contact:
http://www.defense.gov/Releases/Release.aspx?ReleaseID=13824
http://www.defense.gov/landing/comment.aspx
Media contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132
or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 761-10
August 24, 2010
DOD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring
Freedom.
Spc. Pedro A. Millet Meletiche, 20, of Elizabeth, N. J., died Aug. 22 at Arghandab River Valley, Afghanistan, of
wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the
1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
For more information, the media may contact the Fort Carson public affairs office at 719-526-7525.
Spc Pedro A. Millet Meletiche
August 24th, 2010
Died: August 22, 2010 in Arghandab River Valley, Afghanistan
Spc. Pedro A. Millet Meletiche of Elizabeth, New Jersey died at age 20 at Arghandab River
Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using an
improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st
Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo. He graduated in 2008 from
Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical Academy, a campus of Elizabeth High School. While
there, he played on the baseball team and was a standout student. He enlisted in the Army
shortly after graduation to pay for college and a better future. He had been deployed to
Afghanistan for less than a month.
Fort Carson Soldier Killed On Third Day In Afghanistan
Army Spc. Pedro A. Millet Meletiche's Unit Was Sweeping For Mines
POSTED: 3:55 pm MDT August 24, 2010
FORT CARSON, Colo. -- Relatives say a Fort Carson soldier from New Jersey was killed on his third day in
Afghanistan.
The Department of Defense confirmed Tuesday that 20-year-old Army Spc. Pedro A. Millet Meletiche died Sunday
during an operation in the Arghandab River Valley. The DOD said he died of wounds suffered when insurgents
attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. Family members said Millet Meletiche's unit was assigned to
sweep for mines.
He had called his mother when he arrived in Afghanistan on Friday to say he wasn't feeling well. He enlisted in the
Army shortly after graduation from high school in 2008. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment,
1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.
Soldier from Elizabeth, N.J., Dies in Afghansitan
Updated: Tuesday, 24 Aug 2010, 5:00 PM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 24 Aug 2010, 8:33 AM EDT
MYFOXNY.COM - A soldier from Elizabeth, N.J., died on just his third day in Afghanistan.
Spc. Pedro A. Millet Meletiche, 20, died Aug. 22 at Arghandab River Valley of wounds sustained when
insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device.
Meletiche's family told NJ.com that they had a bad premonition earlier this month when he left for Operation
Enduring Freedom.
The family said Meletiche told them in a phone call on Friday -- his first day in Afghanistan -- that his unit
was sweeping for mines.
Millet's body was flown into Dover Air Force Base Tuesday, the Star-Ledger reported.
He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry
Division, based out of Fort Carson, Colo.
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/military/soldier-from-elizabethnj-dies-in-afghansitan-20100824
Fallen Carson soldier dies on third day in Afghanistan
Comments 6
August 24, 2010 4:02 PM
LANCE BENZEL
THE GAZETTE
A 20-year-old Fort Carson soldier was killed Sunday in Afghanistan just three days into his first combat tour, family
members told the Star-Ledger newspaper in Newark, N.J.
Spc. Pedro A. Millet Meletiche, of Elizabeth, N.J., was fatally wounded by a bomb blast in the Arghandab River
Valley, the Defense Department said.
The two-year Army veteran called his family Friday, the day he arrived in Afghanistan, and said that he was being sent
out to sweep for mines, according to an account by the Star-Ledger.
His death marked the first casualty in the month-old tour of Fort Carson’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry
Division. The 3,800-soldier brigade left Fort Carson beginning in mid-July and is still settling in for its yearlong tour
focused on training Afghan security forces.
The Defense Department warned earlier this month that it expects higher troop casualties through the fall as the U.S.
steps up military operations aimed at hampering Taliban control.
Millet, a native of Puerto Rico, began his education in the U.S. as a third-grader at George Washington School No. 1 in
Elizabeth.
He graduated in 2008 from Elizabeth High School, where he was remembered as a “kind and thoughtful person” who
played baseball and excelled at vocational programs such as construction technology.
“I watched him mature from a shy young freshman into a person with a sense of purpose,” Betty Vimbor, a guidance
counselor, was quoted as saying in a statement on the school website.
“I recall how proud he was to serve his country and how handsome he looked in his uniform when he returned to visit.
His deep commitment and dedication to serve our country was quite admirable."
He is survived by his mother, Denise Meletiche, stepfather George Salado, and three younger sisters, Kimberly Franco,
Tiffany Franco and Denise Franco. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Millet is the 51st Fort Carson soldier to die in Afghanistan. An additional 256 Fort Carson soldiers have died in Iraq.
He was assigned to 1st Brigade's 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment.
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Spc. Pedro Antonio Millet Meletiche IV, a 20-year-old native of Elizabeth, N.J. was killed in
action when his dismounted patrol detonated an improvised explosive device in the Arghandab river valley in southern
Afghanistan. He was assigned to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team,
4th Infantry Division
'Raiders' remember Spc. Pedro Antonio Millet Meletiche IV
by 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 at 10:46pm
KANDAHAR, Afghanisitan - The 'Raider' Brigade morns the loss of one of our own who was killed
Sunday, 22 Aug. in the Arghandab river valley outside Kandahar City, Afghanistan while his unit was
conducting a dismounted patrol.
Spc. Pedro Antonio Millet Meletiche IV, a 20-year-old native of Elizabeth, N.J., was assigned to Charlie
Company, 1st Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.
In Spc. Millet Meletiche's short career, he made lifelong imprssions on everyone he came in contact with,
always carrying a smile and an award winning attitude no matter how difficult the task.
"Spc. Millet [Meletiche] was a great assest to the company," said Cpt. Walter Reed, Charlie Company
commander, 1-66AR. "He always performed his duties with a smile and an attitude that said nothing was too
hard for him to accomplish. He had the ability to make people laugh that came in handy on many stressful
training days."
Millet Meletiche joined the Army as an Armor Crewman in September 2008 and attended One Station Unit
Training at Fort Knox, Ky. Upon completion of his training, he reported to Fort Carson, Colo. and joined the
honored ranks of the Iron Knights.
"He brought his great attitude to whatever task was required of him, making his squad and platoon successful
in all of their missions," said Reed. "He was a great example of an American Soldier, who accomplished his
mission no matter what the circumstance."
"Spc. Millet [Meletiche] will be sorely missed by the platoon and has made a significant impact on the
Soldiers' lives during his time with the company," said Reed.
A memorial in his honor will be held in Afghanistan.
NJ Soldier Slain in Afghanistan
Killed by improvised explosive device on third day of duty at assigned location
By PEI-SZE CHENG
A soldier from New Jersey was killed on his third day at his assigned location in Afghanistan.
The Department of Defense confirmed Tuesday that 20-year-old Army Spc. Pedro A. Millet died Sunday
during an operation in the Arghandab River Valley. The DOD said he died of wounds suffered when
insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device.
Family members said Millet's unit was assigned to sweep for mines.
Officials said he and another soldier were in a car when they detected a mine. They both got out on foot to
deal with the mine when insurgents threw the IED at them. Millet died; the other soldier was wounded.
Officials have not released the name of the other soldier.
Millet had called his mother when he arrived at his assigned location on Friday to say he wasn't feeling well.
He had been Khandhar since August 1, but didn't get to his designated area until a few weeks later.
Millet was a 2008 graduate of Elizabeth High School, where he played on the baseball team. Millet, who has
three younger sisters, enlisted in the Army shortly after graduation. Millet's family said he joined the Army
to get money for college -- he'd hoped to work with computers.
He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry
Division, based in Fort Carson, Colo.
Funeral arrangements are pending because the family is awaiting the results of an autopsy being conducted
through the army in Delaware, which Millet Meletiche's mother tells NBCNewYork could take a few days to
complete.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC New York First Published: Aug 24, 2010 3:35 PM EDT
The Department of Defense confirmed the death of a Fort Carson soldier who was supporting Operation
Enduring Freedom.
Spc. Pedro A. Millet Meletiche, 20
of Elizabeth, New Jersey, died August 22 at Arghandab River Valley,
Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit
using an improvised explosive device.
Spc. Millet was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st
Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, based in Fort Carson,
Colorado.
Pedro Millet is a native of Puerto Rico who came to the United States as a child and started as a thirdgrader at George Washington School No. 1 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He graduated from Thomas A.
Edison Career and Technical Academy, a campus of Elizabeth High
School, in 2008.
Educators and students remembered Pedro as a "kind and thoughtful person" who played baseball and
excelled at vocational programs such as construction technology.
Millet's family said he was an exemplary student, son, and older brother who enlisted in the Army to
pay for college and a better future. His loved ones are reeling from the sudden turn of events, and had
talked with Pedro just days before he died, when he first arrived in Afghanistan.
Among those Spc. Pedro A. Millet Meletiche leaves behind, are his mother,
stepfather, and three younger sisters.
Spc. Pedro A. Millet Meletiche is missed. REST IN PEACE
(story and photo sources used: The Colorado Springs Gazette, kdro news , Star-Ledger, Star-Ledger )
Denise Meletiche leans over to kiss her son, Army Spc. Pedro A. Millet Meletiche, 20, during a funeral
service Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010, at the Christ Fellowship Church, in Elizabeth, N.J. Pedro A. Millet
Meletiche died Sunday, Aug. 22, 2010, during a combat operation in Afghanistan.
Fallen Carson soldier dies on third day in
Afghanistan
Comments 6
August 24, 2010 4:02 PM
LANCE BENZEL
THE GAZETTE
A 20-year-old Fort Carson soldier was killed Sunday in Afghanistan just three days into his first combat tour, family
members told the Star-Ledger newspaper in Newark, N.J.
Spc. Pedro A. Millet Meletiche, of Elizabeth, N.J., was fatally wounded by a bomb blast in the Arghandab River
Valley, the Defense Department said.
The two-year Army veteran called his family Friday, the day he arrived in Afghanistan, and said that he was being sent
out to sweep for mines, according to an account by the Star-Ledger.
His death marked the first casualty in the month-old tour of Fort Carson’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry
Division. The 3,800-soldier brigade left Fort Carson beginning in mid-July and is still settling in for its yearlong tour
focused on training Afghan security forces.
The Defense Department warned earlier this month that it expects higher troop casualties through the fall as the U.S.
steps up military operations aimed at hampering Taliban control.
Millet, a native of Puerto Rico, began his education in the U.S. as a third-grader at George Washington School No. 1 in
Elizabeth.
He graduated in 2008 from Elizabeth High School, where he was remembered as a “kind and thoughtful person” who
played baseball and excelled at vocational programs such as construction technology.
“I watched him mature from a shy young freshman into a person with a sense of purpose,” Betty Vimbor, a guidance
counselor, was quoted as saying in a statement on the school website.
“I recall how proud he was to serve his country and how handsome he looked in his uniform when he returned to visit.
His deep commitment and dedication to serve our country was quite admirable."
He is survived by his mother, Denise Meletiche, stepfather George Salado, and three younger sisters, Kimberly Franco,
Tiffany Franco and Denise Franco. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Millet is the 51st Fort Carson soldier to die in Afghanistan. An additional 256 Fort Carson soldiers have died in Iraq.
He was assigned to 1st Brigade's 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment.
Call the writer at 636-0366.
U.S. Army soldiers fold an American Flag Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010, at the Christ Fellowship Church, in
Elizabeth, N.J., during the funeral service for Army
Pedro Antonio Millet IV
Army Specialist Pedro Antonio Millet IV, 20, of Elizabeth passed away on Sunday, Aug. 22,
2010, during a combat operation in Afghanistan. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the
funeral on Tuesday, Aug. 31, at 9 a.m. from the Christ Fellowship Church, 1121 Elizabeth Ave.,
Elizabeth, N.J., with the funeral services at 10 a.m. Entombment will be in Rosedale Cemetery
Mausoleum, Linden. Visiting is on Monday, Aug. 30, from 5 to 9 p.m. at the church.
Arrangements are by the Krowicki McCracken Funeral Home, 2124 E. St. George Ave., Linden,
N.J. 07036, (908) 352-9190. Send online condolences to www.krowickifuneralhome.com Born
in Yauco, Puerto Rico, Spc. Millet had lived in Elizabeth since 1997. He graduated from Thomas
A. Edison Career and Technical Academy, a campus of Elizabeth High School, in 2008. He played on the baseball
team, was a member of the No Limits Team Car Club in Elizabeth, and loved cars and racing. It was in high school that
Spc. Millet was recruited for the U.S. Army. He was assigned to the Company C, 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment,
1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, based in Fort Carson, Colo. Spc. Millet was the beloved son of Denise
Meletiche of Elizabeth and Pedro A. Millet III of New York; devoted brother of Kimberly Marie Franco, Tiffany Denise
Franco and Denise Marisol Franco, all of Elizabeth; loving grandson of maternal grandparents, Nilsa Ortiz of Elizabeth
and the late William Meletiche, and paternal grandparents, Pedro Antonio Millet II and Milo Millet of Florida. He is
also survived by a host of loving nieces and nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.
Published in Star-Ledger on August 30, 2010